


Another One bites the dust

by Poetsheart



Category: Hellsing
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-18
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-06 08:36:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 33,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13407471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poetsheart/pseuds/Poetsheart
Summary: Survival belongs to the fittest they say. Well, she struggled to survive every. Damn. Day. Of her life. That’s what “soldier girl” was doing when he found her. Now she is bigger, badder, and stronger than ever, and has caught the interest of the biggest baddy of them all. Can she survive this?Re-write of the same authors story posted on another site.





	1. Hello, Soldier Girl.

**Author's Note:**

> Authors Note: I actually wrote this story over ten years ago. As I was struggling to find the words for my story “Rushing Oceans, Melting Hearts” (Yu Gi Oh), I decided to look at some of my old stories. Good God almighty, they are a damn mess. Terrible grammar, plot, and dialog abound. It bothers me. More than it should. I attempted to move forward but was unable to as I just could not get this particular story out of my head. Ideas filled my head and in my mind’s eye, I could not wipe the visions of the story that is about to unfold away. So I threw in the towel. You win oh mistress of the pen! I have postponed all other stories and will be recreating this one to suit my muse.   
> Disclaimer: This will cover all chapters. I do not own Hellsing, its characters, nor its original plot.

The chill of the night air settled over a rocky hill, caked with blood and ashes. The wind tore through the trees with a vengeful purpose, as if it’s only goal was to tear down all obstacles in its path. In the distance, snarls of the dead rose to a crescendo, competing for the loudest, mightiest voice, while the wind continued to shout its wrath to the world. A lone figure could be seen, bolting through the trees, vaulting over fallen trees, and dodging the branches that would eviscerate her if they were given the chance. Dark hair whipped wildly about her face, all the while, her iridescent blue eyes glowed with a burning purpose. Her arms pumped faster as she propelled her self-harder through the wooded area, while the legends of nightmares chased her, determined to corner her and devour her for her sins. When she reached a break in the woods, she dove into the river between her and her salvation; a church on the opposite hill. She had learned a while ago that these abominations could not cross water. They would have to go around to reach her, and by the time they did, she would be ready.

She swam as fast as her tired, aching body would let her, and scurried up the bank toward her sanctuary. Dodging the many booby traps she had laced the ground with, she cautiously opened the front doors of the church, carefully looking, smelling, and listening for an intruder. Only after a vigilant search of the grounds did she finally sink into a chair to rest, if only for a moment. She had been trapped in the God-forsaken town for fifteen days. It had been fifteen days since her commanding officer of his majesties royal army had condemned her to this fate with his ridiculous sense of self-worth and pride. 

They had received reports of a massacre of the town of Cheddar. For the second time in history, this once peaceful town was bathed in blood and brimstone. The town cried out for her people, once again lost to a homicidal priest and his unholy brood of companions. Her captain, Sir Dubliner, had taken one look at the report, glanced and the video feed, and had uttered the words that had sealed her fate, “Gear up! Shut up! Cut up!” She had argued bitterly with him on the matter. She had seen the video and the pictures. She recognized that the enemy was not one to be trifled with. 

“These are vampires and ghouls,” She said, not masking the exasperation in her voice, “We need Hellsing!”

“Shut the fuck up soldier girl!” he snarled, whirling on her to get in her face. Spit flew at her when he vehemently said, “That old bitch and crazy vampire tart can suck my dick. I got this. We don’t need them...”

She cut him off with a snarl of her own, “Yes we do! The vampire “tart” and the return of Alucard will ensure that no more people die. CALL THEM YOU IDIOT!”   
This had earned her punch in the face before she was ordered to “get her ass” out into the field. “I don’t care who your uncle is, bitch. Bloody knight of the round table indeed” she heard him say as she stomped out the door. 

Her uncle was Sir Penwood, and while he wasn’t the most daring or coordinated of the knights, he did take after his grandfather, after all, he was still a smart and brave man. She should have called him anyway. He would have sent Hellsing and she would not be stuck in this hell of a church, surrounded by the dust of the dead, with dwindling supplies. It was too late now. Her phone was dead, and she had a duty to the military she had dedicated her life to finish what they started. She sighed at that thought as she counted out the silver bullets she had made from one of the crosses in the church. There were only nine left. Rubbing her eyes, she glanced behind her, assessing the large silver cross that stood behind the pulpit. She could melt that down, make more bullets, but she doubted that she had the strength to lift it tonight. After destroying two vampires’ nests, hunting down said vampires and battling to the death, she was done. Her energy was less than a vapor in the morn. 

“I cannot do this anymore” she whispered into her tired, bloody hands. A clattering noise caused her head to snap up and her body to grow ridged. They were here. Nearby and plotting a way into the church. As she quickly loaded the bullets and strapped in the swords she had crafted of silver, she listened closely to the night. It was hard to hear over the howling of the wind, but she could just make out two voices speaking heatedly in the distance. She crouched low, crab walked over to the window, and lifted her mirror on a stick to look outside. She has created this on her first day here to make sure she could always see if someone was sneaking up on her and to ascertain their position. It had come in handy many times, like tonight. Once she had adjusted the mirror, she could see a figure clad in red, standing calmly in the field between the church and the river, towering regally over the head vampire priest and his legion of ghouls. That has to be Alucard! She thought, praying that she was right. Almost as though he heard her, the man in red turned his head in her direction. 

No! She shouted in her head, do not look at me! She kept perfectly still, staring at his reflection in the looking glass. He seemed to smile, at least she thought he did, before he looked at his advisory once more. His lips moved as he removed a large caliber gun from his jacket and pointed it at the Priest. The Priest threw back his head and laughed, ordering his constitutes to attack Alucard. Two of the original nine vampires, the only minions of the priest left thanks to her, launched themselves at the elder vampire. Faster than the eye could see, he gunned them down, without moving from his spot, and pointed the gun again at the priest. All at once, the ghouls lifted their guns, cocked them, and fired rapidly at Alucard. His body shook hard as each bullet ripped through him. She held her breath as he collapsed on to the ground, seemingly defeated. She knew he wasn’t. Her uncle had told her all the stories from World War III, of the vampires return from the pits of hell itself. She knew that mere bullets would never take him down for long. But still, she held her breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“Oh soldier girrrrrrrrrrrrrllllll,” the priest shouted, laughing all the while, “I know you are innnnnnnn there! Come out poppet. I just want to play. I promise it will feel good before it hurts.” He taunted. 

She remained silent. If he wanted to get to her, he would have to get through the silver filled landmines in the church grounds. If he managed to make it past those, he would have to face her sword. As tired as she was, as ready as she was to call it quits, she knew that she would fight. Shayne Penwood was not a coward. Like her grandfather before her, she would take as many as she could with her. She waited, tense and ragged, as the silence stretched thin over her bones. 

“How about this?” he called, the mocking tone never leaving his awful voice, “I’ll make you one of us…well one of me any way. You see, I seem to be lacking companions as of late, you’re doing of course. However, I do not hold this against you. You have shown that you are a very resourceful, strong, and brave human. Think of how you would fare as a vampire. Are you not tired? I can change that. Come to me human. Let me give you peace.”

Breathing in deeply, she remained silent, waiting for him to try to breach her temporary home. Seconds stretched to minutes and silence remained supreme. All too soon, the silence was broken by a vicious growl. 

“Fine, have it your way!” He finally shouted, ordering his ghouls to enter the grounds. As soon as they did, the landmines went off, causing the Priest to curse loudly. The ghouls, being stupid creatures, marched forward anyway, setting off more landmines and falling in droves. They were making progress, however, and it would not be long before they reached the front door. She moved as swiftly as she could, positing herself in front of the door, with her gun cocked and her sword at the ready. 

“My, my,” a voice whispered behind her, causing her to whirl around, gun raised, “You are really something. “ As he spoke, Alucard's form began to materialize from the mist. “Surviving fifteen days and hellish nights, fighting vampires and taking them down, barricading yourself in the church of the dead.” He looked at her over his newly formed glasses, a red glow emitting from his eyes, causing her to shiver. “They are closing in. What will you do now? I know you are tired. Will you fight? Or roll over like a dog?”

Shayne glared at him as the door behind her began to rattle as the dead attempted to tear through. “If you are not going to take over the situation as is your duty, then I’ll do so in your stead.” She hissed, turning her back to him and squaring her shoulders. They were almost through; she needed to be ready. Alucard's insane laugh reverberated in the air bounced off the walls and overshadowed the massive crack of the door flying open in splinters. He was still laughing when they entered, causing the Priest and minions to pause in confusion. 

“I swore I killed you.” He hissed.

“You tried,” Alucard said, smirking, “But I am everywhere and nowhere. You cannot kill what never was and is no more.” 

“What the hell…never mind. You are not my concern. The girl is. Leave her to me, and I’ll vacate the grounds as soon as I am done. You can then go back to your pathetic life of killing your own kind.”

“My own kind?” Alucard said, his voice dropping to a softer and much deadlier register. When Shayne looked behind her briefly, she saw a menacing look that shook her to the bones. And it wasn’t even directed at her. He continued, all humor gone. “YOU are not MY kind. You are filth and scum. You are not worthy of the lowest pits of hell you wannabe vampire punk! You barely know what you are!”

Shayne barely had time to move as the Priest, snarling, launched himself at Alucard. She leaped to the side and crashed into the pews, tumbling to the ground. Shots were fired, maniacal laughter filled the air, but she had no time to watch the fight. The ghouls had set their sights on her, and she was ready. With a wild yell of her own, she threw herself recklessly into the throng of the dead and slashed anything within her reach, her sword blazing in the light of the moon streaming from the dust filled windows. They had hunted her, and she them, now it was time to end this. She struck again, and again, and again, her tired body screaming in protest as she lashed out at her enemies. Still, she pressed on, sending them to the permeant grave to which they belonged. Behind her, she could hear the Priest screaming, and Alucard laughing with mirth. As the Priest gave his last dying scream, Shayne laid waste to the last of the ghouls. It was over. There was silence. Sweet, unadulterated silence. Shayne could breathe fully again and her spirits lifted. Finally, she could leave this hellish place and go home to rest. 

“You did well soldier girl,” Alucard said from somewhere above her. She turned and looked up at him. His face was blank, but his eyes told a different story. He studied her openly, and she returned the gesture. Such a beautiful and scary creature he was. She may not have seen but a glimpse of what he could do, but he was still terrifying. If he wanted, he could kill her and leave her there, and no one would be the wiser. She shivered at that thought. He cocked his head to the side and smirked.

“Are you afraid of me?”

“I’d be stupid if I wasn’t,” she replied as calmly as she could. 

“You have nothing to fear from me tonight.” He said before walking past her in long strides to the now broken door. Once he was outside he looked at her over his should and said in an almost teasing voice, “Are you coming?” Before turning and walking away.

They traveled by foot for almost an hour, his step never faltering and hers was weak and weary. He didn’t seem to want to talk, so she remained silent, lost in her own thoughts. Before long, they could see the lights of the many trucks and tents of the Hellsing and Knights organization before them. Shayne felt her spirits lift once more, and was better able to keep up with Alucard's long strides. As they grew closer, a shrill voice pierced the air and shouted, “Master!” A young blonde woman ran to greet Alucard, a huge smile on her face, shadows of red and black trailing behind her. Before she reached them, she stopped short, staring at Shayne like she was attempting to ascertain the mystery of the world’s darkest secrets. 

“What?” Shayne asked bluntly. The girl, Saris, Shayne remembered vaguely, started at her comment.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I was just trying to figure out if you were still human.”

Shayne was slightly taken back by this comment, but it dawned on her why the girl may have thought this. Saris herself was turned in this town and must have been a bittersweet trip to this place of haunting memories. 

“She held her own for much longer than you did, Police Girl,” Alucard said lightly. 

“Hey now! I was…nineteen. Give me a break!”

“Not much younger than the Solider Girl then. She managed to survive spectacularly on her own. She did not need me to turn her.”

“Enough you two.” 

The group looked at the figure approaching them. Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing approached them, her regal gray-blonde hair flowing behind her. Her age had not withered her beauty, and her steely blue eye was as lively as ever. 

“The target vampires have been silenced,” Alucard said.

“Good. Shayne, it’s good to see you again. Are you well?” Integra asked, assessing the girl for wounds. Shayne knew she did not look well. Her hair was dirty, her clothing was ripped, and her face, arms chest, and legs were covered in scratches and knife wounds. Bruising was blossoming in multiple places, and she was nearly swaying on her feet. 

“I am in need of a shower, food, and rest. I dare say I will sleep for days after this. It is a pleasure to see you again Sir Hellsing.”

Before Integra could respond, a figure shot past her and scooped Shayne up in a hug. Sir Penwood, her uncle and only family, started crying and blubbering in a manner that left Saris and Integra staring at her with pity. Alucard simply looked like Alucard. Assuring him that she had suffered worse, she gently pushed him off her. 

“I am fine, uncle. Really I am.”

“You can stay with me tonight and recover. I can have someone get you some of your items from your house. Your dogs are already at my home.” He said, his eyes pleading for her to come with him. She smiled at him. He was always worried about her wellbeing and as annoying as he could be, Shayne knew he did everything out of his love for his deceased sisters’ child. 

“I will not argue with that.” She said simply, causing him to smile wide. 

Integra cleared her throat. “I will need you to report to me as soon as you can tomorrow. I would like to know how you survived for fifteen days with 10 vampires on your trail.”

Shayne’s blood ran cold. “Ten?” she asked. She looked at Alucard who was regarding her expression from over the rim of his glasses. 

“I killed three,” he said quietly, “How many did you dispose of?”

“Six.”

“Amazing!” her uncle chimed brightly.

“Yes,” Alucard said, no hint of smugness in his voice, “but that means that my job is not done. There is still one here somewhere.” 

What happened next was so fast that Shayne could not recount it if she tried. As soon as Alucard said this, he spun around with his gun at the ready. Saris had moved at the same time, flexing her shadows with an alert and dangerous look in her eyes. Integra had her sword at the ready. But none of them predicted what would happen next. The vampire female leaped from the trees of the nearby woods and threw a knife. It sliced through the air so fast, so precise, that even if he had been expecting it, Alucard could not have reached Shayne in time. The knife pierced her heart, and she toppled over in her uncle's arms. He screamed, Alucard fired his gun, and for Shayne, the world started to turn grey. When she could focus again, her uncle was sitting on one side of her, and Alucard was kneeling on the ground at her other side.

“Choose,” he said.

“Choose what? I wasn’t listening.” She said faintly. 

“Your uncle has informed me that you are a self-proclaimed virgin. If this is true, I can save you. Decide now,” he said, an air of anticipation around him. She hesitated. To be a vampire, after all she had been through with them? Her life started to fade as her uncle begged her to take the offer. She was a little taken back by this. If her uncle was urging her to do choose eternal death, he must be lonelier than she thought. She realized that she must have said that last part out loud because her uncle threw her a dirty look and Alucard laughed. 

“Choose. Last chance.” Alucard stated simply. Her uncle nodded vigorously, Saris was unsure, and Integra simply shrugged as if to say, “your choice”. 

“Will it hurt?” she asked the vampire next to her.

“No.” His voice was almost kind.

As she started to fade away, she murmured her consent. She felt him lift her up, felt his breath on her neck, and felt his teeth sink into her neck. She fully expected pain, but instead, all she felt was her body relaxing as she finally, blessedly, was able to fade away on a wave of silence and peace.


	2. New Life

That silence and peace did not last long. Her darkness exploded into a whirling vortex of colors while a multitude of voices began to screech in her ears. **What did you do?** They asked, over and over again in varying tones, pitch, and volume. Their voices reached a crescendo and, in the real world, Shayne reached up and covered her ears with her hands. From his perch on her bed, Alucard regarded the girl quietly, his red eyes glowing as he reached into her mind to find her thoughts in utter chaos. There was something else there, in the back of her mind, something more sinister and dark, like a bad memory struggling to surface. He was tempted to reach out and bring that memory forth, but his fledgling’s current distress caused him to stop, and withdraw. There would be plenty of time to explore that memory later. She might even tell him about it if he asked. He had a feeling that she was a very candid individual. A scooting noise beside him caused him to turn his head and look at the Knight who sat rigidly in his chair, staring at his niece.

“What is wrong? Is she in pain?” Sir Penwood asked, panicking.

“Old memories are surfacing,” Alucard said, glancing at the Knight once more. Sir Penwood slunk in his chair and murmured something along the lines of “of course they are” before he slipped into silence. This renewed Alucard interest. Something sinister had happened to this girl. She was turning into a very interesting specimen after all. When Shayne’s body began to shake, he reached out and placed a gloved hand on her shoulder and shook her.

“Wake up.” He said. At the sound of her master’s voice, the girl’s eyes flew open, her breathing ragged and, if her heart did beat, it would have been beating rapidly. Well, rapidly for a vampire. She sat up quickly and pulled her knees to her chest, hiding her face from him and struggling to calm down.

“How does it feel to be a vampire soldier girl?” Alucard asked, standing up to his full height.

“Give her a minute to recover Alucard, she had been through a lot.” Her uncle’s voice caused her head to snap up and she looked at him with slightly different eyes. His pulse captivated her and she found herself staring at it hard. She had to shake herself and look away. Taking a deep breath she no longer really needed, she looked up at Alucard.

“I do not know how it feels. I just became one.” She replied, her voice giving nothing away. At least she thought it hadn’t. The look on his face said otherwise.

“What?” she asked, glaring at him. They locked eyes, and even though her instincts told her to look the other way, she stared back, defiance in her eyes.

“You’re going to be fun,” Alucard said, laughing as he turned away. “Sir Integra wants you to report to her immediately.”

“Now just a minute,” her uncle protests, moving to stand beside her, “She just woke up. Give her a minute to get dressed and recover.”

“I relayed what I was asked to relay. I will meet you in her office soldier girl. Do not make me wait long.” And with that, Alucard disappeared into the shadows. 

Shayne stood up, noticing that she was in pajamas of some sort. She briefly wondered how she had gotten into them, but one look at her torn army uniform that was now hung over a chair, she was glad she was no longer in that outfit. As a matter of fact, she never wanted to wear it again. Her uncle took his leave and waited outside the door for her. She walked into the bathroom, fully expecting to find herself a mess, but she was surprised. She was clean, as If someone had bathed her, and her hair was, for the most part, in place. She ran a brush, her brush she noticed, through her hair and placed it back on the sink. Looking around, she saw that all the items in the bathroom were hers. As she left the bathroom, she took a more careful look around and saw that every item in the room, including the bed, were hers. Her ten bookshelves packed with books were on all the walls, including her large vanity and desk. She noticed that all of her pictures were stacked neatly on the table for her to place at a later date. _How long was I out?_ She wondered silently. _I guess I live here now._ She thought, wondering where her dogs were. **They are with me. Now quit stalling.** A voice filled her head and she jumped. _Master?_ She asked in her head, tentatively. She cringed when she had automatically thought that word in association with Alucard. Calling someone master was the antithesis of everything she was. It had almost hurt. **Hurry up!** Was all he said in return.

Shayne shook herself and located the closet. Once inside the walk-in closet, she selected dark colored jeans, a fight like a girl t-shirt, boots, underwear, and changed into them in a hurry. She exited the room and located her uncle leaning on the opposite wall. He looked up at her and gave her a small, tired smile, before gesturing at the steps. They walked up together in silence. She wondered what her uncle was thinking, and what he thought about her now. She was sure that her earlier staring at his jugular was on his mind. She hoped that this would not be a continual problem for her. **Once you start drinking the blood provided to you, it won’t be.** Alucard's voice flitted through her mind before his subconscious faded from hers. That was going to take some time to get used to. She really did not like that he could get into her head to easily.

They made it up the stairs and followed a long hallway to the main office. Pushing aside the large double doors, a fairly empty room was revealed. Toward the back with the tall and towering windows, Integra sat behind a large desk, cigar in her mouth. Alucard stood in front of the desk, with Saris at his side. Shayne and Penwood trudged forward until they too were standing in front of the desk. Integra indicated that she should sit in the chair beside her. After doing so, Integra took a drag from her cigar, and looked at Shayne with her good eye, assessing her.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Yes, Sir Hellsing.”

“Then tell me a story.”

So she did. She told them of Sir Dubliner’s choice, of his reaction, causing her Uncle to scowl. She told of her first encounter with the vampires and the ghouls.  They had been stationed just outside the town, drawing up a useless battle plan when the first whisper of death reached their ears. Shayne had left the tent to see an army of ghouls and vampires approaching them. She had yelled at the men to ready themselves and had cocked her own useless gun. Once again, she thought about going against her commander's orders and calling her uncle, but there was no time for that anymore. All they could do was fight. The undead army had attacked. They were slaughtered. Utterly laid the waste. Humans against the undead was not a fair fight after all. Blood was flowing, her men were screaming, and her commanding officer had fled from the fight.

“He is still alive,” her uncle growled, breaking her from her memories, “he will pay for this.”

Integra silenced the man with a look and encouraged Shayne to continue. After a deep breath, Shayne told of taking charge of the last remaining of her men and ordering them to fall back. They had run then, ran with everything they had, with several of them being slaughtered along the way. When they reached a river, she had ordered them to dive in and swim to the other side. As they swam, she noticed that the ghoul army and its leaders did not follow, but instead looked for a way around the river. She said she used that knowledge to her advantage and ordered her men to be at the ready and run for the church.

“That was a mistake. I thought that the vampires could not enter a church. I sent my men to their death in that unholy place.” She hung her head in shame.

“Why did you think they could not enter a church?” Alucard asked, looking dubious, “The main leader was a priest.”

“Well…” she began, then stopped. Her uncle cleared his voice and sheepishly informed the group that he had told her that. They all stared at him in shock.

“I just wanted you to have someplace you felt safe Shayne. I am sorry.” He too hung his head in shame.

“Well no point in dwelling,” Sir Integra said with a little mocking in her voice, “Just tell us what happened next.”

The men had entered a nest of vampires and ghouls. They had fought but to no avail. Only Shayne had been left standing, and only because she had her sword with her. As the moon was making way to the sun, she had fled back to the river, and stood in the center, while the armies on both sides yelled insults. As the sun began to rise, the undead army retreated, and she was able to make it to the bank, and hide away to sleep for a few hours. When she had awoken, she had made her way back to her base, loaded a truck up with supplies, and made her way around the city doing the same. Her target was the church. She was going to rid the holy place of the beasts that had slaughtered her men. In turn, she would be erasing her sins of her mistake. She told of climbing the building and slipping into the top floor where she knew the silver crosses were kept in the attic. She had stolen several of them and had cut them into pieces with an ax and a saw. Stuffing them into land mines, she had placed those mines all around the outside of the church. She had then melted down the metal over a fire that she had to build and maintain to keep the heat at its maximum. When the metal had melted, she had poured them into molds and left them to cool. As the moon was rising again, she had loaded the bullets into her machine guns and waited. It wasn’t very long before the first vampire was exiting the back door, making a beeline straight toward her. He taunted her as he moved, but she responded by putting a bullet in his head. The undead army had come then, in droves. They rushed out of the building and into the landmines, killing several of them, and causing many to fall. She fought with the remaining survivors, eventually killing them all.

“I then explored the house, and found that one of the other vampires was in there, waiting for me.” Shayne paused, rubbing her now tired eyes.

“What did you do?” Alucard asked, peering down at her over his glasses.

She had killed it. The vampire had not even tried to hide and had attacked her violently. Hand to hand combat was hard, but she had managed to dodge and only had a couple of her ribs broken. When she had injured it enough that it could not fight, she had questioned it before putting a bullet in his head.

“He told me there was nine total. I shouldn’t have believed it.”

“Go on.” Sir Integra said.

So she told of her creating the place as a stronghold, of melting down crosses to make bullets and scrap metal. She told of the other nests she had conducted the same trick with and how she had to change tactics once they became more aware of her. She had tracked them down and taunted them into following her into a field covered in silver dust. She recalled how easy it was to cut them down with the swords she had crafted from the silver. She had used this trick many times before she encountered the Priest.

“He was the worst of all of them.” She said then. “I tried everything I could think of and was unable to kill him and his companions. For several days I tried, but in the end, I had to retreat. I ended up killing two, right before he and the others caught up with me at that church.”

“Continue.” At Shayne’s raised eyebrow, Integra said, “I have heard Alucard's version. I want to hear yours.”

So she told the rest of the story, verbatim, and when she had finished, she waited. The silence was finally broken by Alucard.

“Impressive, Soldier girl.”

“Thanks. My name is Shayne, by the way. Soldier girl is what my commander called me. I won’t be called that by anyone else.” She looked up at Alucard defiantly. He laughed then, wildly. When he finally stopped, he regarded her for a moment.

“Shayne. What a name for something like you. Fine. You have earned that much.” He said.

“And I am not calling you Master.”

“You will. Whether you like it or not.” At her look, he shrugged. “You will not be able to help yourself. However, if you do figure out a way around it, call me whatever you like.”

The silence in the room stretched until a man burst into the room, waving papers at Integra. She took them and read them over quickly.

“We have another attack occurring right now. An orphanage ten miles outside of Cheddar village. Saris, Alucard, get ready to rid us of this threat.”

“Should I go too?” Shayne asked, standing.

“I think she should. She has to learn how to fight like a vampire at some point.” Alucard said at Integra’s hesitation. Despite her uncle’s protest, Integra agreed to allow Shayne to go with them. Shayne assured her uncle that she would be alright. After calming him down, Integra spoke up.

“Keep calm. Follow Saris and Alucards examples. When you get back, come to me. We need to talk about your permeant living arrangements and your role here at Hellsing.”

“Alright,” Shayne said.

She looked at the pair of vampires not sure what to do. Alucard smirked and reached into his coat and handed her a handgun. It was a smaller version of his, and she tested its weight in her hand.

“This will do for now. We will have a custom one made later.” Alucard said as he watched the girl fiddle with it. “For now, come.”

The world around them began to fade and darkness covered everything. She was so startled that she reached out and grabbed the only solid thing she could find. After a short time, the darkness began to fade, and the scene around her began to change until she found that she was in a field of trees, and the moon was shining high in the sky.

“That was…unsettling.” She said to break her own tension.

“You will get used to it. You can let go of my arm now.” Alucard said.

Shayne hastily dropped his arm and strode past him to hide how red her face had become. She heard him chuckle as he followed her lead to the large building a head. She could sense something was in that building and that it was not human. She could smell the blood of children in the air and was instantly angry. All of those children, so innocent, and now, so dead before their lives had even begun. Before she could enter the building, Alucard grabbed her arm and spun her to face him.

“You’re going in hot. While that works to the Police Girls advantage, it will not work for you. Calm down.”

“How can I be calm? Those were children! Children!” She exclaimed, her eyes turning red.

“It’s hard to see things like this. But both you and I know that terrible things happen, even to children.” Saris said, causing Shayne to look at her. “I experienced it as a child and I saw things as a police officer that still makes me shudder. I am sure you have had the same experience, maybe even worse as a soldier. Your anger, like Master said, will not help them now. They need the military mind, not the mind of a mother or big sister.”

Shayne shook Alucard's hand off her, and she was pretty sure he let her. That chaffed a little bit. However, they were both right. She closed her eyes and cleared her head, pushing back her own dark childhood memories. Once she was calm, she opened her eyes and Alucard nodded at her. She turned to and pushed the doors to the orphanage open. Inside it was dark and smelled like copper pennies. Blood coated the walls and the bodies of children were piled along the walls. **Be careful and silent.** Alucard said to both his fledglings. **Saris, you take the upper floor. Shayne, follow me.** Saris moved quickly up the stairs and Shayne followed Alucard down the hallways, her gun at the ready.

They were alert as the moved, checking each room to find them empty. They could hear no gunshots above them, so Saris probably had not found anything either. _We must be too late._ She thought. **No, they are here. Pay attention.** Shayne glared at Alucard's back but continued to look. He said they, indicating that there was one than one. He must be able to sense them in totality, while she could only sense the wrongness of the situation. **Wrongness?** He asked silently. _What would you call the slaughter of children?_ She asked, indignant. **You can only pinpoint death and destruction. You still think like a human.** He answered, turning over a couch that was in his way. _Fine. What do you see?_ She asked, sure that she did not want to know.

He was silent for several minutes as they approached the rooms at the end of the hallway. Then he spoke in her head again. **I see the eroticism of death. The smell of blood and chaos awakens my senses and inspires my passions.** His dark laughter filled her head. _You are a pervert._ She said, anger lacing her thoughts. **Why?** He asked, mimicking her normally blunt tone. Before she could answer, a vampire launched its self at her from the darkness. Before she could raise her gun, she was slammed into a wall and a hand was trying to grope her between her legs. She snarled and threw the male back with everything she had, which was quite a bit more than she thought. Looking around, Alucard was nowhere to be seen. _Damn him._ She thought as she raised her gun once more. The vampire dodged her bullet and punched her through the door behind her. She landed on the ground with a grunt and scrambled to her feet. **You are still aiming like a human would. Aim from your forehead. Aim for the heart or the head. You should know that part already.**

She ignored his jib and threw herself forward at the male vampire attacking her. They collided midair and she slammed him down to the ground. Quicker than she had ever moved before, she shot him solidly in the head and watched him crumble into dust. Shaking herself off, she moved swiftly out of the room, her gun raised, only to find a female vampire facing off with Alucard in the hallway. The vampire laughed and showered the room with bullets. Shayne dodged and hid behind a couch in the hallway. Alucard did not move and allowed himself to be gunned down. He hit the ground just as Shayne rolled out and fired her gun. The female vampire dodged it laughing.

“Oh, is the little raven mad that her lover was killed?” she asked.

“Ew. Not my lover. Although yours…” She let it hang in the air.

“You BITCH!” The vampire launched itself at her.

Before Shayne reacted, the vampire was shot through the head from behind and disincarnated into dust. A newly formed Alucard stood there smiling as Saris joined them in their hall.

“Well, that takes care of that,” Saris said, smiling back.

“What about the children?” Shayne asked.

“They won’t turn into ghouls now if that is what you mean,” Saris said, looking over at her blood sister.

“I think she means what will become of their bodies,” Alucard said, looking at her.

She nodded. “What happens to them now?”

“The Knights clean-up squad will take care of that,” Saris said brightly.

“For now, we return to Integra,” Alucard said, stepping closer to the girls. “Ready?” he asked, not waiting for an answer as he whisked them away into the darkness once again.

Once they were in Integra’s office, Shayne sat down in the chair she had a few hours ago and put her face in her hands. Her uncle approached her and placed his hand on her back in a soothing manner.

“Are you alright?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah. I’m…yeah.” Was all she said.

“Snap out of it,” Alucard said harshly. “That is the nature of what we do. You cannot dwell on the human side of it. You are not human anymore.”

Shayne looked over at him with anger snapping in her eyes. “Maybe the world needs a humanistic vampire to exist. I will be that vampire. Get over it.”

They faced each other, bristling. Alucard backed down first, to everyone’s surprise. He just shrugged to the room in general and faced Integra. He barked out a short and concise report before returning to silence. Integra glanced at Shayne and sighed.

“Now that is out of way…Shayne, with much convincing, your uncle and I have decided it would be best if you stayed here for now. You will train, fight the undead, and rest your head here. We will provide for your needs. When you are ready, you may return to your own life if you wish. Just understand, you do not age. People will notice that. I am sure that Alucard can teach you how to handle that as he did for so long.”

“Where are my dogs?” Shayne asked.

Integra raised an eyebrow. “I assumed you would ask about your parents first. Your dogs are currently running around the grounds. Alucard had them in his room for a time. They can return to yours tonight if you wish. We do have a large pen to put them in outside as well.”

“I will keep them with me, thank you for taking care of them thus far.” She directed that thanks to Alucard as well with a glance. “As for my parents…do they know?”

“Yes,” her uncle spoke up this time, “They do. They were…at ease with it.” He added lamely.

“You mean they were excited?” Shayne asked, her voice dangerously tight.

“Why would they be excited?” Saris exclaimed from somewhere in the room. The others, aside from her uncle, looked curious too.

“This means they can declare me dead and take the family fortune that my grandfather left me for themselves. And my company.”

“They would do that? Take the money and your clothing line away?” Integra asked indigent on the girl's behalf. She had known Shayne since she was a teenager and it disturbed her that the girl had even more darkness to deal with. From her family no less. Even Alucard face had turned sour.

“Yes. They would. My sisters’ widowed husband and new wife are…dreadful people.” Her uncle said, his tone was tight and angry.

The first rays of the morning sun hit Integra’s’ face and she looked thoughtful. “Maybe someone will intervene.” She said quietly. They all looked at her with interest.

“What are you planning, my master?” Alucard asked, anticipation in his voice.

“Never you mind. The lot of you, go. It is past everyone’s bedtime.” And with that, she dismissed them.

After saying goodbye to her uncle and locating her dogs, Shayne made the long trek back to her room. Her puppies Roxy and Zazu yipped happily at her feet. She giggled as they hopped and fell down the stairs to her room. Roxy, the black and silver Pitbull, kept laying on her side and rolling down the steps. Zazu, the silver, and red Pitbull, hopped down a few steps, before whining for her to pick him up and carry him down the rest of the way. She did so and cuddled him a bit as he calmed down. Once they were at her door, she fully expected them to follow her. Instead, they shot down the hall, with Zazu jumping out of her arms to do so, and she ended up chasing them. She ran after them, calling for them as they ran down the hallway towards a large open room. Once in the room, the dogs gathered on either side of a regal throne-like chair in the center. She watched as two gloved hands reached over the sides of the chair and scratched their ears. Alucard was there.

She rounded the chair and looked at her master in wonder. He said nothing as the puppies jumped in his lap to try and lick his face.

“They like you.” She said.

“Dogs usually do.” Was all he said in reply.

She looked around, and aside from the chair, the table with the wine and glasses, and coffin to the side, there was nothing. She assumed that this was his resting place.

“This is where you…reside?” she asked. She had almost said, lived, but that was not the correct term.

“Yes. You are disturbed by the lack of clutter?”

“You are older than…well, dirt. You think you would have accumulated something.” She said.

“I have no need for the trappings of man.” He nearly sneered.

“I can understand the no TV part. But books? None whatsoever?”

“I have read more books that you own, Shayne.”

“I believe that. I also believe that you might feel like you don’t deserve things because you are a servant of sorts. “

“Are you analyzing me?” He asked lightly.

She started. She had been analyzing him. She was used to analyzing people. She had to as a designer and a solider to assess a situation or need. “Sorry. Habit. But true, no?” Her guesses were usually spot on.

“Maybe.” He said, putting the puppies on the ground. They ran to her barking and excited. It would be hard to put them to bed now. In addition, they were used to running around during the day and sleeping at night. This would be a difficult adjustment for them.

“And for you.” He said, leaning his cheek on his hand.

“I’ll manage. I am already tired. Come on pups.” She strode past him, with her puppies on her heels. Once she was far enough away from him, she said, “Everyone deserves something.”

“And a good evening to you, Shayne.” He said with a gentlemanly tone.


	3. What's in a Name?

Weeks had passed, and Shayne was adjusting to her new life. Most of her days consisted of drinking her blood, training on the grounds with Seras, and going on random missions for Integra, playing with her dogs, and sleeping. Occasionally, she was able to sit down and read a good book. She was following her normal routine and was sitting down to read her favorite poet, William Wordsworth, when Alucard materialized in her room.

“The great people of the earth invented something very useful. It’s called a door. You knock on it.” Shayne said, marking a page in her book.

“You want me to stop? Make me.” He said, arrogance dripping from his voice.

Knowing that this was not a matter she could win right now, she raised her eyebrow at him, “Why are you here? I never see you unless you are mocking how I fare against Seras in battle.”

“ Or when you invade my abode. You still think like a human when fighting. That is going to get you killed. You need to train harder.” He said.

“ I don't invade your "abode" I simply follow my dogs there and sit and read while you play with them. So train me yourself.” She countered.

He paused at that then grinned, ignoring the first part of the conversation. “You cannot fathom what I can do. I can crush you with a thought.”

“Put up or shut up.” She snarled at him.

“If I knew you missed my company after a mere night, I would have long ago. We have so many opportunities...”

“That is not remotely what I meant and you know it!” She yelled, her face growing as hot as it can for a vampire.

“My, my, such a red face. I simply meant I would spend the time and train you. What did you think I meant?” he teased.

“You…shut up. No, unshut up. Why are you here?”

“Your parents are here. In Integra’s office.”

Her blood ran cold. They were here which meant her day, night, whatever, was about to grow dreary. Such was the nature of her parents. They could suck the world of its joy simply by entering the room. As Shayne exited her room with Alucard on her heels, she wondered what fresh hell her parents would give her now. They wanted her money, the company, and anything she had that made her happy. They would not rest until she was a pile of miserable ashes on the ground if it meant they got their way. There was a reason that, after her mother died and as soon as she was eighteen, she had left her childhood home to live with her uncle.  After all she had been through as a child, they still tormented her. Maybe because it was so easy after…that had happened. **That?** Alucard asked as they reached the top of the stairs. She continued walking like she had not heard him. Once they were in front of the office door, his voice sounded in her head again. **You’re gushing lifeblood.** She quickly looked down at herself and saw no blood. **Your mind gushes it. It is making you weak. You’ll need to face those demons you keep locked up there.** She snorted. As they entered the room she said, “You first.”

There they were, dressed in the best Gucci could offer, shouting at Integra. Her father's red hair shined in the overhead light, just touched at the sides by gray. Her stepmother, half a century younger than her husband, stood in an elegant dress, blonde hair cascading down to her hips. Their backs were turned to her, and she was fine with that. She never wanted to see their faces. Too bad her father did not take the hint.

“Williamina! You get over and explain this right now you stupid girl!” he shouted at her, walk towards her with his fists raised.

“It’s Shayne. Are you planning to hit me?” she asked, a dangerous undertone to her voice.

Her father changed tactics and lowered his fists. In a sickly sweet voice, he said, “No, Mina, sweetheart. I just want to know what is going on.” Beside her, Alucard looked down at her and mouthed the word “mina”. She shrugged at him and looked at her father.

“Shayne. And I just got here. What are talking about?”

“I can answer that,” Integra said, standing up behind her desk. “I have just informed your father and his wife that Hellsing now owns your assets, including your company “Colorful threads”. They will not be seeing a dime.” Integra smirked at that.

“What right do you have to do this?!” Her stepmother shrieked, baring her teeth and shaking her fists at the older woman.

“I own Alucard. Alucard owns her. Therefore anything she owns, Hellsing owns and can do with as they please. It’s the nature of the kings military.”

Shayne frowned at the “owning” portion of the speech, but she was happy overall. Her parents got nothing, and Hellsing was just given a fresh supply of income that it so needed. Her grandfather would be content with that as he was very fond of Integra. Her parents began to shout once more. She ignored them and began to examine her fingernails. **Mina?** Alucard asked again. She shuddered. She hated that name more than she could say. She understood his interest in it. His…girlfriend for lack of a better term was named Mina and she was taken from him. **Girlfriend? Hardly.** He snorted in her head, but his tone carried a bitterness that betrayed him. She hesitated before replying to him. _I’ll share the story later._ **You better.** He replied, wondering if this was the dark secret she held. After probing a bit further into her mind, he decided that it was just one of many. She was becoming more interesting by the day.

Her parents were quiet at this point and staring at her. She returned the stare with a glare of her own. Her father walked toward her calmly. She knew that false calm. He was going to hit her. Beside her, Alucard tensed, almost anticipating the violence. He was a few feet away when he pounced and struck. Shayne took the hit and hardly moved.

“Do you feel better?” she asked, not even phased. “It seems I can take a punch much better now than I ever could as a child. Would you like to try again? Warning though, I BITE back now.”

He was furious. He snarled at her through clenched teeth. “He owns you, and what you own. I own those dogs. I’ll be taking them now.” He grinned.

Her anger exploded in the air, her eyes turning redder than they ever had. He had never liked those dogs, had not treated them right, and that is why she rescued them. He could have them over her cold dead body. In her anger, shadows erupted from her and covered a huge span of the room. She marched toward his retreating form menacingly, and her stepmother cowered back as well. Energy sparked in the air as she hoisted her father up by the front of his shirt and held him a foot off the ground.

“You touch them, I kill you.” She growled out. “What will you do?”

Scared and shaking, her father relented and said he wouldn’t take them and demanded that she calm down. When her stepmother dared to approach her and hit Shayne with her purse, she found herself also suspended in the air. Shayne held her ungrateful, awful, joy-sucking parents in the air for several minutes, her anger and shadows dancing around them. She wanted to kill them. Needed to kill them. Every fiber of her being was screaming out to hurt them, just as they had hurt her. It was that thought that snapped her out of it. If she did that, she would become just like them. Carelessly, she turned and tossed them to the floor.

“Get out! Before I kill you both with all the imagination I can muster. Get the FUCK OUT!”

They scrambled to their feet and ran for the door, practically sobbing as they went. Shayne struggled to calm down, her shadows retreating bit by bit until they were a simple halo around her. When her eyes changed back to their original color, they disappeared entirely. Everyone in the room was staring at her. Integra was cautious, Seras did not know what to do, and Alucard looked almost…proud.

“Well,” Integra said, breaking the tension, “I am glad that is over. Does your stepmother know what one breast is bigger than the other?”

Every laughed at that, and the tension was broken. “She had a bad boob job a few years back.” Shayne said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “What did I just do?” She asked, looking at Alucard.

“You accessed a power you should not be able to yet. “ He answered, sounding a little impressed. “They are an extension of your being that can be utilized to do so much more than to intimidate a pair of scum. How did you feel when you accessed them?”

“I don’t know. I was so angry…I don’t know how I did it.”

“We will have to explore that at a later date.” Alucard said.

Integra cleared her throat to gain everyone’s attention again. “Would you care to explain the name?” she asked, curiosity lacing her voice.

Shayne hesitated. She really would rather not. **You said you would.** Alucard said. _I said I would tell YOU._ She sighed then and murmured, “I guess it is story time again.”

Preparatory schools were all the rage when she was little. The third world war had been not that long ago, but those with money still wanted to flaunt it. Although her mother had argued with her father on the matter, all it had earned her was a punch in the stomach and a harsh talking to. Shayne had been enrolled in one of those schools and had spent many miserable years there. She was not an outspoken little girl. She had learned at an early age to keep quiet and she would not get hurt. So when the other children began to tease her, she remained silent. They would kick her, push her, knock her books out of her hands and shove her into lockers, demanding that she call out to Dracula to save her. All because of her stupid name. Then, one night, they took it too far.

It was Halloween night, and she was reluctant to go. Her mother insisted that she put on her princess costume and go with her “friends”. She had argued that she had no friends, but her father, drunk at this point, told her to get her ass out there and make friends. He needed her to be liked so that he was liked by the others in his little circle. So out the door, Shayne went. It had been relatively easy that night. No one struck out at her as they were so excited for the candy. Shayne did not care about the candy and knew that as soon as she got home, her father would throw it away, but she was happy to not be picked on for once and to get away from her toxic home. The night was fun, but it ended in tragedy.

As the small group she was with made their way back to their neighborhood, they had to walk through a graveyard. While they were there, they came upon a coffin that was open. The kids began to tease her, telling her that her boyfriend had returned and was stalking her through the town. She had tried to leave then, only to be grabbed by one of the bigger boys. He said that he couldn’t let her leave because the town was in danger. They decided as a group that the best thing to do would to be to leave her in Draculas’ coffin as they called it so that he would find her. Of course, they did not believe what they were saying, but they wanted to make her suffer. Why she never knew, but as they lifted her into the coffin, kicking and screaming, she figured that the why did not matter. The how did.  How she was going to get out of this one, she was not sure. They wrestled her inside and slammed the lid shut. She could hear them walking away, despite her protests, and she spent the night crying and punching the lid. It was the undertaker who finally freed her from her prison.

“I changed my name after that.” She said to the group, finishing her story.

The room was silent. She was regarded with pity by the women, and interest by Alucard. Integra sighed again and said quietly, “I am sorry Shayne. I knew something was going on at your home, I did not know it was this bad. Your childhood, your father…your grandfather must be rolling in his grave.”

“I expect he is.” Was all she could reply?

“You never met him,” Integra said.

“No. My uncle told me stories though, and you did too. I am only 31 after all. He died a year before I was born.”

“31?” Seras asked, staring at Shayne. “I thought you were in your twenties, 23 at the most.”

Shayne chuckled. “And like that, I have now fallen in love with you.” She blew Seras a kiss, and the girl laughed.

“As much as I would like to continue this…conversation. We have an important matter to talk about. Now that I have you all in the room, I would like to address it.” Integra gathered a file out of her drawer and set it on her desk, tapping it.

“Another mission?” Alucard guessed.

“Yes. Since the war, vampires have taken to gathering in underground clubs. Strength in numbers and all that. There is a particular club that is headed by a dangerous master vampire. We just received word on this new development. Apparently, he has powers that can rival yours Alucard.”

“Oh really?” He asked eagerness surrounding the air around him.

“Yes. This vampires name is Gadiva. He has singly handily sired and grouped together the largest vampire society since, well, you. “She said looking at Alucard. He smiled. “He had actually made more than you ever did and gathered them around him. He hosts many clubs, but none of them are as elite or as dangerous as his club called “The Fringe”. This club is for vampire couples who want to, and I quote, “eat, fuck, and kill”. They gather together several times a year for a “hunting” and terrorize a random town as couples, raping, eating, and killing humans. Their activity is on the rise, and their next meeting is supposed to be the most violent. We were able to kill and steal an invitation to the club. It was a blank invitation, no names, so we should be able to send two of you there to scope it out, and stop it, before the violence happens.”

“Who is going with me?” Alucard asked.

“Won’t they recognize him?” Shayne asked, thumbing in Alucard's direction.

“A simple attire change will help with that. It has worked in the past.” Integra said.

“I repeat, who is going with me?” Alucard asked.

Seras looked uncomfortable. Shayne got the feeling that she saw Alucard as a father figure, although she may not have in the past, hence the uncomfortable feeling. Then it was clear that Integra was looking at her.

“Me?” Shayne asked.

“They will recognize Seras. She is well known in the world today. Alucard has not been back that long, so he has a sporting chance. You are not well know either. Perfect match.”

A tick twitched under Shayne's eye. She really did not want to do this. **Relax. It will be fun.** Alucard said. _For whom?_ She asked. **You never know.** Was his cryptic response.

“You will leave tomorrow. Pack for a gala and a society much like the one you were raised in. If you need anything, call me via the phone in your room, and I’ll get it for you. Meet back here tomorrow night for instructions.” And like that, they were dismissed again.

As Shayne trudged to her room to let her dogs out, she couldn’t imagine a place like Integra had described. It had to be awful. **Maybe not, Mina. You need to look on the bright side of life.**

 **“** It’s Shayne damn it,” she growled out loud, “and look who the fuck is talking!”

A chuckle is all the received in reply.


	4. The Club

The next day the bags were packed, the car was waiting, and Shayne had learned that they were traveling to Northern Ireland. First, they would be transported by car, then via plane. Integra and informed her that they were using her money from her account to travel. She said it almost apologetically. Shayne shrugged at that until she was handed a purse full of money. Integra informed her that Alucard had a wad of it too as they would need it to travel.

“Cash leaves less of a trail. Besides, I hear they prefer those couples who literally wave around cash anyway.” Integra had said, then left her to go find Alucard who had not arrived yet. Shayne waited in the foyer for them, lost in a train of thought. That thought was broken by Alucards arrival. As he materialized, she saw that gone was the red jacket, boots, and hat. He had on a snazzy, expensive suite, shiny dress shoes, and red tie.

“Take a picture, it will last longer.” He said as she stared.

Shayne turned her head from him and retorted with a snort, “Like you would show up in a picture.”

He laughed. “That is a myth.”

“Why?” She asked, distracted as several men approached, carefully carrying a coffin.

“It was created as a means to identify as human when we needed to” Alucard explained, his eyes now on the men carrying the coffin too. They were nervous under his stare, almost as if they were afraid of him. Then again, it was most likely that they were afraid of dropping the coffin in front of him.

“Yours?” She asked, pointing at it.

“Where I was born and where I will die.” He said cryptically.

“You are already dead.” She murmured as she watched the men load the coffin into a town car.  Then a horrifying thought crossed her mind.

“I don’t have one too ..?” she let the question hang in the air.

He snorted. “A vampire afraid of a coffin. Will wonders never cease.”

Before she could retort, Integra appeared through a doorway. She assessed Shayne’s attire with a critical eye. Shayne was wearing a blue Baha East maxi dress that flared out at the waist and the shoulders, giving it flowing, elegant, yet casual look. She had a sky blue purse and pumps to match, and her blue butterfly necklace completed the attire. She had left her hair long and flowing, but under Integra’s stare, she wished she had done something more with it.

“I thought you would be wearing something from your clothing line,” Integra said finally.

Shayne shrugged. “I thought that might be telling.”

“Smart!” Seris perky voice said behind her, causing her to jump. She berated the girl but was secretly grateful for it. The way Integra was examining her and Alucard was looking at her, was making her nervous. She had always hated being the center of attention. Nothing good ever came of it. **Perhaps it wasn’t the right people staring.** Alucard said silently. She raised an eyebrow at him as if to say “what the hell does that mean”? At his shrug, she just snorted. Integra eyed them both spectatiavly, before she too shrugged.

“Go,” she said, briskly, “The car is waiting for you.”

Alucard and Shayne entered the car and sat on opposite sides of the car, facing each other. As the scenery rolled by, she pondered on her life thus far. She would never have thought she would be in a secret organization, hunting done vampires like herself, and taking a secret trip to a secret club that hosted vampire couples, of all things, in order to slaughter them all.

“What did you expect your life to be at this point?” Alucard asking, breaking her from her thoughts.

“Stop doing that.” She growled.

“Make me.”

“Suck silver.”

He laughed at that, then looked at her like he still expected her to answer. She shrugged. “I thought I would be in command of my own army, move up to the intelligence office, and eventually to the Royal guard.”

“Lofty expectations for a woman.”

“Yes. Many told me that.” She said, looking out the window again.

“What makes you think you would have gotten that far?” he asked, sipping on a glass of wine that she was unsure where he got it from. There were no wine glasses nor wine in the car. It was a tribute to her acceptance of the odd situation she was now in that she did not question him on it.

“I would have crushed anyone who got in my way.” She said determinedly, looking him in the eye and challenging him to say anything to contrary.

He smirked back at her and said, “I suppose you would have.” That was a high compliment coming from him and she tried not to preen. He pretended not to notice. The rest of the car ride was in silence.

Finally, they arrived at a remote helicopter pad. As they approached the helicopter, she saw that Alucard was leading her to the back. In the back was his coffin. He pulled back the lid and motioned her forward.

“What?” she shouted over the copter blades.

He said two words that chilled her to the bone. “Get in.” She backed up and shook her head. There was no way she was going to get into a coffin. He knew what had happened to her and he still wanted her to get into that thing?

“You will die if you try to fly over an open body of water as you are. Get.IN” he growled the last part at her.

“Then I am not going!” She said, preparing to run.

Faster than the eye could see, she was thrown over Alucard's shoulder and tossed into the coffin. As he went to close the lid, her foot reflexively kicked out. He caught her foot in a hard, bruising grip, slammed her leg down, and slammed the coffin lid shut. **Do not kick my coffin.** He snarled in her head. She did not answer as she tried to swallow the panic and bile rising in her throat. The entire ride on the helicopter had her in a constant state of nausea as she struggled against her own inner demons. Visions of Halloween night danced behind her closed eyelids and seemed to play over and over again. When they finally touched the ground, she almost wept with relief. As soon as the coffin lid opened, she leaped out of it faster than the eye could see. Alucard laughed.  She spun around and marched towards him, craning her neck up as far as it would go to look him in the eyes.

“Do.Not.Do.That.Again.”

“No promises,” he said, smirking.

Before she could respond, he spun her around to face the door and pushed her forward. Gritting her teeth, she allowed him to steer her out of the helicopter and on to land. When she looked around, she found that they were on the top of a very tall building. Waiting for them on the platform was a man in a fancy suit with a name tag on his left breast. He motioned them forward with a wave of his hand and motioned a few men by his side toward the back of the helicopter to gather their things, presumably.

“Welcome to Broomhall Castle Hotel!” the man, Jerry his name tag said, shouted over the helicopter blades. As the blades died down, he lowered his voice to a proper speaking level. “John and Mina Holycross yes?” He asked.

The entire time that Alucard was talking to the man and allowing him to lead them to their room, she barely registered their surroundings so hard was Shayne glared at HIM. She got the feeling that he was laughing at her inside. One, she was furious that they were using her given name as she had made it clear that she HATED that name. Two, they were supposed to be a couple. She had never ascertained that this would mean pretending to be married. Once they arrived at their room, Shayne was fuming. Jerry handed them their key cards with a word to call him if they needed anything and left them to enter the room alone. Once inside, Shayne turned to Alucard ready to explode. He held up his hands innocently.

"Oh don't try and bullshit me! You…after knowing that I hate this name…you arrrg!" she threw up her hands.

"I did not choose the name. Integra did. She thought it would save you from someone recognizing you. I believe you have a popular clothing line and you do not use your given name yes?” she continued to glare at him as he spoke and he chuckled. “Relax  _Mina_ , after all, we are on vacation." He pulled out a blood packet and sat down on the bed in the spacious three-room suite.

"I hope you get Aids. Any other, ANY other name would have been better." She snapped as she moved to put her stuff away.

He watched her move around the room in a furry. Inside, he was indeed laughing at her. He had had more than one reason for picking that name, and yes he had insisted on it, using the logic he had blamed in his master, but the number one reason he chose it was to make her mad. She was so unlike Seris in the fact that she was more than willing to back talk him, made sure that he  _knew_  she was pissed off at him and always seemed to speak her mind. The fact that a simple name could bring out this feistiness in her was amusing. He loved every minute of it. Unbeknownst to her, he had been the one who suggested that Shayne should be the one to come along on this trip. Saris was just too much of a goody-goody to be this entertaining. She finally calmed down a bit as she finished putting her stuff away, a bit to his disappointment.  

“Now what?” she asked after she forced herself to calm down a bit.

“Now we get ready.” He replied, throwing his empty bag of blood away and tossing her one.

"For what?" she asked catching it and opening it.

"For the meet and greet. You have two hours to get ready. Dress for a ballroom type setting. “He said, standing up to explore the room.  She sighed as he abruptly left her alone and moved to the closet to get ready.

After finishing her bag of blood, she gathered up her clothes, makeup, and hair styling items and locked herself in the bathroom. In an hour and a half, she had finally finished the final touches on her makeup. She looked at her reflection, wondering if she should even have a reflection, and looked herself over. Her long red Gucci dress was dazzling. The back dipped low and rested on the small of her back. The top was tight and pushed her ample breasts higher, showing off cleavage that she was not accustomed to showing. The waist was straight, elegant and simple, covering the top of her matching shoes. She had put on more makeup than she was accustomed to but she felt that it looked alright. She had done a good job matching her new paler complexion and had managed to couture with the help of a YouTube video she had watched on her phone. She was not quite brave enough to try a cats-eye, but the smoky eye look was exactly like the video. In short, she looked nothing like herself. She supposed that was the point anyway. Her hair was in a slightly more complex curl and blow out style than she normally did. It was not perfect, but she supposed it would have to do.

Looking at the clock on the wall, she supposed it was time to leave. When she opened the bathroom door, she nearly ran smack into Alucard's chest. She glared up at him, a common look he was coming accustomed to. His eyes roved over her briefly and he smiled.

“You will do. Let’s go.” Was all he said. She deepened her glare as he followed him toward the foyer. _I’ll do?_ She thought angrily. _Men._

“You need to check that attitude. They need to think this is a happy marriage,” he said over his shoulder as he gathered their key cards and the cash, stuffing them into his inner jacket pocket. She glowered at him as she reached for her purse.

“You won’t need that. They tend to have an older view of who should hold the purse here”. He said, turning to toss something at her. She caught it surprised. The velvet box she caught was most likely a ring box. She gave him a questing look. **We are supposed to be married. You need a ring. Hurry up and put it on.** He said silently. She opened the box and her eyes opened wide in shock. A marquise cut ruby surrounded by twenty diamonds set in a vintage gold band almost glowed against the plush black velvet. An air of anticipation wafted towards her. She looked up at Alucard to see the feeling was coming from him. She puzzled at this for a moment, but a loud rap on the door startled her. He raised an eyebrow as if to say, hurry up, and then turned to answer the door. She slipped the ring on her finger just as he opened the door.

She jolted as the cold metal of the ring seemed to warm instantly on her skin. _What the hell just happened?_ She asked Alucard silently as she followed him out the door. **What?** He asked, once again imitating her blunt tone. _Nothing._ She murmured back. It was probably nothing. She must just be jittery tonight. The young man at the door lead them out to the lobby, then turned to give Alucard a car key.

“You are ready to go, Sir. The car has a full tank of gas. Return it to the front and we will take care of it when you get back.” Alucard accepted the key and motioned Shayne to follow him.

"You can drive?" she asked nervously as they reached the car. He had made it clear that he did not need the trappings of man as he called it. It left her doubting that he knew how to use modern technology.

"Oh yes. I learned how to drive the first car that ever came out, the Model T." he said, with a grin.

 _That's comforting_. She thought as he started the car. At first, she was not sure that they would make it to the convention on time, but the way  _he_  drove made her rethink that. She was clutching the armrest as he zoomed in and out of traffic at 100 km an hour. As cars whizzed past, he seemed to lack concern of being pulled over or getting into a crash. At one point on the terrifying trip, she had to fight back a scream as he almost had a head-on collision with an eighteen wheeler. Laughing like a maniac he dodged the truck and drove over the barrier to the exit ramp. Shayne closed her eyes the rest of the trip. Finally, the car came to a halting stop and she opened her eyes. They were parked in front of a building called the Edinburgh Halls. It looked like hostel of some sort. Before she could think, Alucard was at her door. He opened it and held out his hand. She was hesitant, but for the sake of maintaining their “cover” she took his hand and let him help her out of the car.

"I am driving on the way back." She said shakily.

"We'll see about that." He said, chuckling. "Remember to call me John."

"Yes mas…John." She hated that it was so hard to not call “master”.

He laughed again and placed his hand on her waist. She jolted at the contact and the ring on her hand seemed to grow warmer on her hand. Before she could wonder about that, the front doors and it was opened for them by a doorman.

“Do you have your invitation?” he asked in a pinched voice. As Alucard handing it to him, Shayne could not help but notice that his eyes were red. **Vampire. They all are, remember?** Alucard said in her head. Once they were allowed entrance, they followed a small crowd to the formal ballroom. Once inside, Shayne was nearly blinded by the colors of the dresses and suits that everyone was wearing. The dim lighting did not help. As they walked to the gathering by the east wall, Shayne tried not to stare at the people all around her. They certainly looked pretentious with all the fine jewelry and bright colored clothing.

"I feel out of place." She murmured to Alucard as she glanced around.

"Circus Freaks." He muttered as a vampire walked by in a bright flashy red suit. Trailing not far behind him as a black-haired woman with an equally bright and flashy red dress and too much makeup. She called to her companion to wait up. Just then, a small voice from behind her made Shayne jump.

"Oh, I am so sorry. I did not mean to startle you." The woman that had spoken had long blond hair done up in an elegant twist. She was wearing a spaghetti strapped silver dress with a long waistline and sparkling sequins at the bottom of the long skirt that just covered her shoes. Next to her was a man with a black suit that matched Alucard but he was wearing a bolo instead of a tie.

"My Name is Helga and this is my mate Tripp. It is so nice to meet a couple that does not look like these buffoons." She said with a tone of disgust, waving her hand at the others in the room. **Potential candidates.** Alucard said silently. **It seems we may have automatically moved up the list. Fortune smiles on us today.** Shayne resisted the urge to ask him what fortune cookie he had read that from.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too. I am John and this is Mina." Alucard introduced them in a tone she had not heard him use before, and hands where shook all around.

"Ah, yes. I remember your names on the roster. We found your last name, Holycross, to be a fine joke." Tripp said with a genuine smile. _Joke?_  Shayne wondered. She supposed it had to be a joke since vampires have aversions to crosses. _Wait, do they?_ She wondered. _And how did our names get on the guest list?_ She wondered.

"We are members of the Fringe which is undoubtedly why you are here, to get a membership I mean," Helga said with a small smile towards Alucard.

"That's part of it," Alucard said smiling cordially back. Helga was ogling him and Shayne wondered what the hell this club was all about. _If they try that partner switch thing I am so fucking out of here._ She thought. A dark chuckle in her head alerted her that Alucard had heard her.

"Well, come on over here, where the normal vampires are," Helga said, motioning them to a corner where the vampires seemed to dress normally. Shayne wondered what constituted “normal” other than dress here. She was sure that she did not want to find out.  They followed the couple to the back and introductions where given and the chit chatting started in earnest. Helga pulled Shayne to the side and began asking questions about her relationship with Alucard. She realized that this was something they had not spoken about yet. She tried not to panic. She was all about making plans before jumping into a situation. How could she not have thought of this?  All Shayne could hope is that Alucard was telling similar stories to what she was.

"So, how long have you and John been together?" Helga asked.

Before she answered, she heard Alucard voice in her head.  **Two years now.**  She took comfort in the fact that he was listening and cognoscente enough to recognize the danger they might be in if their stories did not match.

'Two years now." She parroted back to Helga.

"How did you meet?"

After listening to Alucard, she found herself telling an altered version of the truth. "He found me in a town called Cheddar where I lived as a human. I was seriously injured by a rogue vampire and left to die. When he found me, he took pity on me and asked if I wanted to die. I had spent so long there, and was so tired of running.” Her mind traveled back to that night and she shivered.

"Wow. So it was a damsel in distress type thing. Very romantic. It is curious though” At Shayne’s raised eyebrow, she continued. “I see you have yet to gain your independence from him," she said, eyeing Shayne slyly. Not knowing what to say, she just gaped at Helga.

"Oh, I think it is sweet that you don't want your independence. Very romantic indeed." Helga said, all starry-eyed.

Shayne glanced at Alucard in confusion. _Independence?_ She asked silently. He just gave her the I-will-tell-you-later look. For about an hour, they both answered questions that were given them, knowing that it was a test of some sort to validate the relationship they were in, and they did their best to make it sound believable. They told many different members the same story and it was getting very annoying. At least Shayne thought so. She had no idea how Alucard felt. The night seemed to carry on and on when finally, Helga steered them back to where Tripp and Alucard stood.

"We," she said, looking at Tripp, “have matters to discuss. It looks like the band has started, why don’t you two join the others on the dance floor?" she suggested as she grabbed her husband’s hand.

"Splendid idea," Alucard said, pulling Shayne behind him by the hand.

Shayne was not much for dancing. As a matter of fact, she was pretty sure she had been born with two left feet. While she had taken lessons in her youth to appease her father, she never had any interest in it. Luckily Alucard seemed to know what he was doing and led them in a waltz. He was skilled enough that she did not feel like the clown she usually felt like on the dance floor. She was concentrating so hard on following his lead, she was unable to speak to him until a slow number played. She was finally able to ask the pressing question in her mind.

"What did Helga mean when she said that I had not taken my independence?" She looked up at him.

"You have yet to take my blood which would free you from me. Didn't you ever wonder why you have the inclination to call me master?" he asked with a smug grin.

"I guess I had other things in my mind. Like surviving. But you said I would always have that inclination? I mean Seris still calls you …that, but she is free right?”

Alucard steered her to the middle of the dance floor and looked down at her, amusement written on his face. “She is her own vampire. However, she never drank my blood.”

“So she is not free?” Shayne asked, discouraged.

“She is free to go her own way. She is a true vampire now. But If I wanted, I could call on her any moment and she would have to come…are you so eager to be rid of me?” he asked, peering down at her.

“I didn’t say that. I just wanted to know my options.” He seemed a little disturbed by that, but in the end, he shrugged. Being a little uncomfortable at the awkward vibes surrounding them that she could not put her finger on the cause of, she blurted out, “Next question, why do I have a reflection in the mirror? I had heard the vampires don't."

He smiled at her obvious discomfort. "Hmm. You are sort of…in between stages. Meaning, you are very young compared to me. The older you get, the less of a reflection you see. I, being as old as I am, have not had one for close to three hundred years." He answered.

"Oh." She murmured stunned by this information, "How old are you?"

"My, my, we are full of questions tonight. Well, let’s see, I am about 656 years old."

"Wow. Were you there for the crusades?" she asked, her interest peaked. She had loved history as a child.

He chuckled. “I was part of them."

"Really? I never took you as the religious type." She said.

"When I was human, I was a Catholic…I believed that God would come if I worked hard enough.” He answered, looking off into the distance.

“And now?” she asked curiosity lacing her voice.

He looked back down at her and rolled his eyes. “What do you think?”

The music had stopped and the band was getting ready to play another ballad. Alucard steered her off the dance floor without bothering to let her answer. She assumed that he was done with the conversation.  As they were leaving the dance floor, he spoke again.

"Helga and Tripp are going back to the hotel room with us."

"What? Why?" she asked, surprised.

"It's another part of the test. They will observe us in our “natural” state. At least that is what Tripp said in an earlier conversation. They are a well-known couple in these circles.”

"So what does that entail?" she asked nervously.

"Relax; they don't expect us to start making love in front of them." He said smirking as she blushed.

"It will be fine." He said, suppressing the laughter as Helga approached them.

"Are you two ready to go?" she asked, " it is rather boring here tonight."

"We are ready. Will you be following us?" Alucard asked politely.

"Yes, we will.' Tripp said as he walked up beside Helga.

"This way then."

As they neared the Lincoln, Shayne held out her hand for the keys. "I am driving, you scare the shit out of me when you do." She said.

"Alright." He agreed and handed her the keys.

The whole way back to the hotel, he grumbled about how slow she was. Ignoring him, she drove safely to the hotel parking lot and got out. Helga and Tripp were waiting for them. Alucard led the way to the room. They entered the suit and he led them to an adjoining living room and poured glasses of wine for each of them. They spoke well into the night, and had it not been for Alucard, Shayne was not sure how she would have made it through the night. She was not socially awkward, but she did not like being in the company of others for so long. She really needed her alone time. Alucard had to keep tapping her leg to keep her in the here and now. All she really wanted to do was get away. Finally, Helga said,

"Dear me, it is getting early. I think it is time we all got ready for bed. Excuse us, boys."

Shayne followed her into the bedroom and handed Helga some pajamas. Why the woman would stage a sleepover with her and their “husbands” and not bring her own clothes was beyond Shayne’s comprehension. This whole “house stay” made no sense. She did not mention this as both women changed while Helga flapped her gums off. Shayne barely paid attention, and just wanted to be alone. Alucard and Tripp entered the bedroom after knocking on the bedroom door. After entering the room, Tripp pulled Helga to him and asked,

"Where are we sleeping?"

"You take the bed, we'll sleep over here," Alucard said, pointing to his coffin at the east wall of the room. Now she was really nervous. She had to share a sleeping place with him? In a coffin no less?  _Great, just wonderful._  She thought. She really wanted to be alone.  **Relax, I don't bite.**  He said, laughing at his little joke.

As the other couple made themselves comfortable, they looked over at Alucard and Shayne expectantly.

"Well, sleep well!" She said a little too brightly.

Alucard leaned over and opened the coffin; he then shed his jacket and tie. He then leaned over her and kissed her briefly on the lips stunning her into silence. She supposed he had to keep up the appearance of husband and wife, but she wished he had warned her. He yanked her into his coffin and she landed on top of him with a soft impact noise. As he closed the lid as he chuckled in her ear.

"Warn me next time." she hissed.

"What fun would that be?" he whispered.

"Jerk."

"Prude."

"I am not."

"Yes, you are."

"Shut up and go to sleep."

"Watch out with how you talk to me soldier girl."

Shayne grunted in response. There was not much room for the two of them and she could not figure out how to get comfortable and keep a gap between them. He rolled his eyes and rotated her body so that her face was resting on his chest and his arm was around her waist. She felt profoundly uncomfortable. She tried to fall asleep, but she found that her body was too warm, and the ring on her hand seemed to grow uncomfortably tight. After a while, Alucard spoke, impatience lacing his voice.

"Sleep." He commanded, and her body obeyed much to her horror. As her mind slipped into the dark slumber, Alucard lifted her ring finger to his lips and kissed it, as the ring glowed brightly in the darkness of the coffin they rested in.

“Sleep well.”  He whispered.


	5. Gadiva

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lemon warning.

Sometime before 6 pm, Shayne’s body began to convulse. It was all Alucard could do to keep her still enough that the other vampires would not hear her thrashing around. As he held tight, the ring on her hand glowed, and the seals on his glove seemed to answer the call. She thrashed harder as if she was struggling to get away from someone or something. He hugged her tighter to him before he entered her mind, and was a little stunned by the images that greeted him. Like it had been for him when that damn cat's blood had entered his system, he saw fragments of terrible memories floating in his charges head. Somewhere behind all these fragments, Shayne was screaming so loudly and desperately that it almost chilled his bones. Almost.

He pushed aside the fragments of nightmares and strode forward, following the sound of her agonized cries until he came to a tall, dark set of doors. The doors had chains across them, attempting to block his passage. He slammed his fist into them and the door, sending the dream wood flying. As soon as he did, Shayne’s screams rose to a crescendo. He strode forward into the pitch black chaos and suddenly found himself in a dark room with a wooden table in the center. On the table was Shayne, naked, bleeding, beaten, and chained. Around them on the walls were various torcher devices, whips, branding materials, collars, and surgical tools. He was bemused as he approached his fledgling who had quieted at his approach.

“Where are we?” he asked, peering down at her from the shadows.

“You wanted to know what “that” was. Take a look around.” She answered weakly.

His eyes once again roved the room before he looked down at her again. “When did this happen?” he asked quietly.

“I was….nine. I escaped when I was seventeen.” She snorted then, “Escaped. Right. I relive this shit every night. I never escaped. I’ll never be free.”

“You are full of surprises soldier girl. “He said, sadness ghosting through his tone before he reached down and broke the chains.

Shayne stumbled up and off the table, grabbing his shirt in earnest. “We have to leave. Now. Before…”

“It’s a dream, Shayne. You cannot be hurt here.”

“Wanna bet?” at the sound of a new, male voice, Alucard's head whipped up. Before him, a few feet away, was a man dressed in all black, covered in blood, with red glowing eyes peering out at him from brown dirty bangs. Even though it was a dream, Alucard could feel that this entity, whatever it was, was real. It may have taken on the form of a master vampire, but it was something else entirely. Alucard was not sure what he was dealing with as he gazed passively at the thing.

“Why are you here?” he asked it, notating that Shayne’s small hands closed even tighter around his shirt.

“To feast, the same as you.”

“The same as me?” Alucard asked lightly, dangerous undertones carried through his voice and into the space between them.

“You drink blood and devour sweet virgins. I have different…appetites.” It said, grinning and revealing several rows of shark-like teeth.

**Succubus.** Alucard thought, while slowly backing Shayne and himself toward the door. He had no power here so long as Shayne’s mind was clouded with fear. He was of no use to her at this stage and time. As much he hated to run, he could do nothing else. He grasped Shayne by her chin and forced her to look up at him. **WAKE UP!** He ordered.

Shayne’s sudden ejection from the dream world startled her so that she sat up abruptly, nearly slamming her head into the coffin lid. Alucard caught her at the last minute, saving her from a wicked headache. She was shaking from head to toe as he pulled her back down to stop her from scrambling out of the coffin. **Stop.** He ordered as she struggled, and her body ceased to move. Her pajamas were tinged with red sweat and she trembled on the verge of screaming. As Helga and Tripp made noises of waking up around them, Shayne struggled to maintain control. **Snap out of it. Now. We will deal with this later.** Alucard said silently, shaking her to get her attention. She closed her eyes and slowly regained her composure. Once he was sure she would not run away screaming, Alucard opened the coffin lid and she got out shakily.

“Good evening!” Helga greeted, making Shayne jump.

“Good evening,” Alucard answered, pushing Shayne toward the bathroom door.

“Is she alright?” Helga asked as she watched the girl snag a dress out of the closet and quickly enter the bathroom.

“Nightmares,” Alucard said with a shrug as if to say what can you do?

“From her time in Cheddar?” Helga asked, eyes a little too intent on his.

Why?” he asked a little sarcastically, a little flirtatious, “Do you care?”

“Not particularly.” She said, deliberately toying with the gold chain that hung between her cleavage.

Inside the bathroom, Shayne had showered and was tugging on a blue evening gown in a midnight blue. The dress sparkled and flowed around her like a dream. The color nearly matched her blue eyes and the effect was dazzling. It was almost enough to distract her from her dream while she put on her makeup and styled her hair. Almost. She struggled with what she saw in that dream, how easily Alucard had entered it, and how he had backed away from her monster. _Is he not strong enough to take it on?_ She wondered as she finished her lipstick. **Not with you blocking me.** Alucard said then, whispering in her mind. _What do you mean?_ She asked, hope thrumming through her. **We will talk about this later.** Was all he said.

When Shayne exited the room, she found Alucard stepping back from Helga, who was attempting to press herself against him. At Shayne’s arrival, the woman just snickered and pulled away. Glaring slightly at Helga, Shayne let her ring hand show, something she had hidden last night. The band glowed and grew warm around her finger and Helga started at it. Shayne cocked her head to the side. _So she can see the glow too._ She thought a little smugly. **Jealous?** Alucard asked. _No._ Shayne replied quickly. Inside her head, he laughed.

“Where is Tripp?” Shayne asked calmly.

Helga continued to stare at her hand. “That ring,” she said, ignoring Shayne’s question, “it’s an ancient artifact…”

“Tripp is getting the car,” Alucard said, interrupting Helga, and pushing past her. At Shayne’s raised eyebrow he raised his own as if to say, not now. _You will tell me what the hell she meant by that._ Shayne said confidently. **Yes dear.** He replied.

“Shall we go?” he tossed the question over his shoulder at Helga.

“Ye.Yes.” she said, sounding flustered. Now Shayne was really curious. Before she could demand answers, Alucard spun her by her shoulder and pushed her out the door. She led the way with a sigh. She was really tired of secrets.

A half an hour later, the couples were at the club, entering through the same doors. The same circus freaks, as Alucard called them, overtook the lower floors. On the upper floors, that had not previously had anyone on them, Shayne saw several vetted members walking them, staring down at the crowd below them with amusement. She wondered what they looked like down here. Ants? Bugs to be squashed? She really did not like the foreboding feeling that was building up inside her. She clutched Alucards arm tightly as he steered her behind Tripp and Helga to the bottom of a staircase. Just as they arrived, the music stopped abruptly, and everyone looked up. At the top of the stairs was…someone who suddenly captivated her.

At six foot five and 250 pounds, the man was easily the most alluring piece in the room. His raven hair and striking red eyes found her face and held her in place. She felt a warmth spreading through her body, starting at her core and throbbing out through her womanhood. If she had been able to stand on her own power, she would not have been able to. Her hands began to tremble, causing Alucard to look down at her with alarm. She did not look at him, she was captivated by the creature gliding down the steps, his eyes intent on her she almost yelped when Alucard snatched her up and pulled her into an embrace, facing away from the creature. Snapping to her senses, she breathed in his scent, attempting to cool down the passions that were stirring in her

“Hello,” a smoky, rich voice said behind her. “My name is Gadiva. And you are…?”

Alucard shifted her in his arms and reached out his hand, introducing himself. He held hard to Gadiva’s hand, his eyes glowing brighter than they ever had, his seals straining to be unleashed, and Shayne’s ring glowed brightly to match his rage. At noticing the ring, Gadiva looked surprised.

“I am sorry,” he said well naturedly, “I did not notice the ring. I should not have dazzled her like that. My apologies to you.” He said to Alucard.

“She is one to behold.” He answered begrudgingly.

“Yes,” Gadiva said, gazing at her as she turned around to look at him. “Turned, marked, married, but not taken fully. That is a rare…treat to pass up.”

Alucard growled and Gadiva held up his hands innocently. “I see we have gotten off on the wrong foot. I am sorry. Let me make it up to you by extending you full membership to the club.”

“Just like that?” Shayne asked, surprised.

“Just like that,” Gadiva said, smiling at her.

“Thank you,” Alucard said, still sounding pissed.

“Come now, join us,” Gadiva waved at a star-struck Helga and a slightly enamored Tripp, “Join us upstairs.’

“Delighted,” Alucard said, having gained his composer back.

They followed him up to the upper levels. Once there, Shayne had to hide her shock. There were humans with taps in their arms, like they were kegs, sitting lithely behind the bars. Vampires were everywhere kissing, doing other things that she had to avert her eyes from to keep from blushing. The music was slower, and more haunting up here, and the atmosphere was almost dangerous. The men excused themselves to the bar, and Helga and Shayne found seats in a corner.

“What did you do to bag a man like that?” Helga asked her abruptly, and bluntly.

“What?” Shayne asked, using the same tone.

“You are not particularly pretty,” Helga said nastily, sniffing, “and have no assets other than your breasts. Is it because you are a virgin?”

“Maybe I am better at fallacio than you,” Shayne said, stunning Helga into silence.

The men returned from the bar with the drinks and Alucard handed her one.  **Drink it slowly; we don't want them to think you have never had fresh blood before.**  He warned. Her first sip was like nothing she had ever imagined and she barely managed to keep a straight face. To cover her surprise and, honestly, delight, she said,  _well, we have located him, now what?_   **We have to get him to trust us. If we try and kill him now, we would only draw attention to ourselves. We need to get him alone with no one around to be a witness.** He said.

"So how long will you be in Scotland?" Gadiva asked her, completely ignoring Alucard and the rest of the group.

"For a few weeks or so." She said, not looking him in the eyes.

"What a shame, not near enough time to have fun." His musical voice nearly had her swooning again.

"Watch it," Alucard growled.

"I am sorry. I forget to turn off the charm from time to time. Such beauty yet left untapped. I can't fathom what you are waiting for." He said to Alucard. Helga made a choking sound at the compliment given.

"That is my business," Alucard said, containing his anger.

"I see that this is very new to you.” He said, ignoring Alucard again and speaking directly to Shayne.” I am guessing you don't really go to gatherings like this." He said.

"Not really." She answered.

"We mostly keep to our self's," Alucard said, dropping his arm around her shoulders.

"I see. Say, John, you wouldn't mind if I took your girl out on the dance floor would you?" Gadiva said abruptly, his eyes laughing at Alucard. Knowing that this was a test of trust, Alucard curtly nodded.

He grabbed Shayne’s hand had led her out on to the dance floor. It was a hauntingly slow number playing and he pulled her so close she could smell his cologne. As they danced, he seemed to be leading out of the sight of Alucard who was doing his best to keep his physical eyes on them. He extended his power to watch everything and nothing, just to be safe.  

"Not a very friendly mate you got there Mina." Gadiva murmured to Shayne.

"He is just possessive." She answered after a beat.

"I see. But not possessive enough to fully claim you? Or are you making him wait?"

"I…that's a little too personal." She blushed.

"I am sorry, but it is just such a shame. On lighter ground, how did you two meet?"

This part was easy as she just repeated the story from earlier. He listened, his eyes focused on hers. She realized that he was, once again, dazzling her. She made a move to step back but he held on tightly.

"Stop please." She whispered.

"Do you really want me to?" he asked in a seductive voice.

"John." She croaked, not being able to call out his name loudly enough for Alucard to hear.

"Shhh. Relax, go with the flow." He said, pulling her closer. Just as his lips were about to touch hers, a hand reached out and grabbed his shoulder. Alucard stood behind him, suppressing the rage pretty well.

"Mind if I cut in?" he asked his voice deceptively smooth.

"But of course." Gadiva agreed, stepping back.

Almost immediately, he was surrounded by beautiful women who all were trying to get him to dance with them. He chose the prettiest of the bunch and swept her into his arms. Shayne put her head on Alucard's shoulder to keep from fainting.

"I am sorry, I didn't mean to…I felt like I couldn't stop it…" she tried to say.

"It is not your fault. I can tell he is rather old and has taken the time to perfect his little talent. He is used to getting any girl he wants. It is a good thing I was keeping tabs on you." He said.

"Why is that?" she asked, still resting her head, eyes closed.

"To you, he would be like a drug. You would be instantly addicted to him if he took it any further.”

"Can you do that too?" she asked, looking up at him a little alarmed.

"Yes," he said smiling, "I can and have in the past. I just choose not to now as I find that willing females make the best companions."

"Oh." She murmured, struggling to focus again. “Isn’t he the …target? Should we use this weird…interest he has in me to lure him away from the crowd?”

“Why is his interest weird?” Alucard asked, leading her to another slow number, ignoring the second half of her question.

_Who could be interested in me? I am fucked up._  Shayne thought. Out loud she said, “Never mind. Well, should we?”

“No. He knows I dislike him. He will try to get you alone, while I am distracted. It would be suspicious if I suddenly left you alone now. For now, we play it by ear.”

They danced a few more numbers until most of the induced lust had faded. Shayne was incredibly tired afterward, and had to lean on Alucard to keep from falling over. **Nearly done.** He said soothingly. Soothing words from Alucard startled her. She must be worse off than she had originally thought. **Would you rather I was…rough?** He teased, causing a spark to return to her nether regions. _No._ she squeaked in his mind, making him struggle not to laugh out loud. **Liar.** He said grinning for real now.

“Shut up.” She said out loud, making the couple next to her snicker.

“Why?” he asked, tracing her bottom lip with his thumb. Shayne shuddered, in a good way, and struggled not to lean into him. _Quit coasting off Godivas high._ She countered, smirking as he flinched. His eyes narrowed, promising retribution.

 

 

He got his retribution later that night. They returned to the hotel, Helga, and Tripp with them, much to Shayne's annoyance. As the couple had a conversation in the living room, Shayne was getting ready for bed in the bedroom when Alucard suddenly appeared in front of her. She gave a startled squeak and reached for her pajamas, still on the bed. Suddenly, she felt a force stop her in mid-reach. There she stood, naked as the day she was born, unable to move, while his hot eyes roved over her, taking in every inch of her skin, scars and all.

Hissing, she said, “Stop it. Let me go!”

He ignored her and stepped closer. The grip on her was released enough that she could move. She could not, however, look away. As he approached, he was all she could see, all she could fee, and all she wanted. That low throbbing from earlier returned with a vengeance. It was more powerful than anything Godiva had thrown at her tonight. If Alucard touched her, she’d be his. He was just a breath away when he stopped. **I am much better than he is at this. I have played this game much longer than he has.** He whispered seductively in her mind. She shuddered, in a good way. Her nipples began to throb. **Bigger, badder, faster, and stronger.** He said again, his mouth inches away from hers. **The difference is, he would use it to force you. I only use it to enhance the desire you already have.**

Her eyes widened in shock when he kissed her. It wasn’t gentle or sweet, but hard and passionate. He did not stop to consider her novice lips. He devoured them. she felt herself give in as she threw her body into his. One hand gripped her hair, while another found her ass and held on. Yet another…another hand? Shayne's eyes popped open wide and he pulled back long enough for her to see multiple shadow hands descend upon her body to touch and caress her before he was back to kissing her with a ferocity that caused her toes to curl. She felt the hands travel up and down her body, pinching her nipples, caressing her sides, and slipping between her legs to rub that tight bundle of nerves that was throbbing too hard. She gasped, then cried out in his mouth as the phantom fingers began to rub her clit hard and fast. He held her steady, even as her legs trembled and her body shook as he swallowed her cries as she began to come, hard and fast.  The ring on her hand burned and glowed brightly the entire time.

**That’s what I can do.** He whispered in  her head. **Spread you legs and I’ll show you what else I can do.** She did. Heavens help her she did. She was still throbbing and aching. She barly had control. That was the thought that snapped her out of it and caused her to grab his hand as he reached between her legs. He looked at her, his eyebrow cocked as she pushed him away.

“N..no” she said as clearly as she could.

His eyebrow rose even further, “No?” he mimicked questionably.

“I shouldn’t have let you….no more. This isn’t me!” she exclaimed, tears forming in her eyes “Turn it off!”

He laughed then, so loud it caused Tripp and Helga to look up from their conversation and toward the bedroom door.

“It is off” he purred. She looked even more shocked, stopping getting dressed, now only clad in pajama pants, to stare at him.

“I turned it off as soon as started touching you.”

“Liar!” she hissed, pulling on the shirt. “I still feel it! Turn it off!”

“What you feel now,” he said with a smirk, “is your own need and desire. This is not my doing.”

“So my orgasm was fake?” she asked sarcastically.

“Oh no, that was real. And all my doing. No magic involved….well, maybe a little.” He said, eyes glowing brightly. He moved towards her again and she backed up. He snickered as he grabbed her and pulled her hard against him. She felt the hard line of his body, the bulge in his pants. Saw the wild look in his eyes and felt those invisible hands hold her tight against him as he began to grind hard agaist her.  She whimpered at the sensation as he picked up speed  and lowered his lips to her throat, tracing his teeth marks on her neck with his tounge.  She groaned as the build-up was reaching a fast peak and begged him not to stop.

He pinned her agains the wall and moved at a speed that only a vampire could, causing her to nearly scream. Her ring glowed even brighter, flooding the room with it’s rays and, as they both came together, the room seemed to explode in light and leave stars behind in its wake.  Shayne realized that his teeth were in her throat again and that he was drinking fom her, prolonging the orgasm. She shuddered and shuddered. 

**And that was with was with our clothes on.** He purred in her head as she pushed him away and ran for the bathroom. **Wait until I fuck you for real.**   _You won’t!_  she exclaimed.

**I will.** He vowed.


	6. The Ring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lemon, rape attempt, violence.

She refused to sleep with him. The arrogant bastard. If he thought she was going to just climb into his coffin with him after what he did…she shuddered at the memory and tried not to whimper at the phantom pleasure that blossomed in her womb.  As soon as she had been able to, she had marched out of the bathroom and found herself another place to sleep. The suite did have three rooms after all. It made no sense that they all were sleeping in one room anyway.  She found that, even though she was away from him, she still felt him everywhere she went. Every move she made under the foreign sheets reminded her of his touch, and her dreams were plagued with scandalous sex acts, each more erotic than the last.  Now that she was awake, steeling herself to leave the room to prepare for another stupid evening with the vampires at the club, she found that she was well rested. She had not been visited by her nightmares this time. All she had seen and felt in her dreams was him.

 **You’re welcome.** His smug voice echoed through her mind and she snarled out loud. “Go away.”

“No.”

Shayne whirled around to see Alucard standing on the other side of the room, peering at her over a glass of blood at his lips.  She felt a tug then, and nearly took a step closer to him before she caught herself.

“What makes you any better than him?” she hissed. His eyes narrowed and his mouth tightened into a snarl. She continued on, despite the dangerous drop in temperature in the room.  “You used your…I don’t know…mind control to entice me just like he did. You used it to your advantage just like he did. The only difference is, he never got me into a room alone!”

The glass shattered and blood dripped down his fist. His eyes flared with an unholy light and the ring on her finger burned.  “What even is this fucking thing?” she snarled, continuing her tirade. She thrust her hand at him angrily. “Helga said it was an ancient artifact. What the hell does that mean?”

Alucard was visibly shaking at this point, and Shayne got a distinct impression that he was trying not to attack her. She did not care. Before this night continued, he was going to own up to what he did and explain the damn ring. Mission be damned. Her defiant stance and thought pattern enraged him further and before she knew what was happening, she was pinned to the bed beneath him and his normally expressive face was a solid block of ice.

“Do you dare to assert that I raped you?” he asked softly, dangerously.

“I wasn’t in control! You might as well have!” she hissed, struggling in his grasp.

“here’s the thing, _Mina_ , you were in total control. I sparked the fire, you kept the flames burning…”

“I said NO!” she snarled, interrupting him.

“ you begged me not to stop.”

“I was under your influence!”

“You were aroused. You wanted me. You were too much of a prude to admit it. So I gave you a push.”

“That was no fucking push! That was a …invasion!” she shouted the last word in triumph.

He gave her a humorous less grin. “If I had invaded you, you would be very sore right about now.” His grin faded. “Did you think I did not notice? All the glances? All the time you visited me in my chambers? All the times you asked me? All the times you stared at me?”

“That does not mean I…” at his growl she stopped. His anger filled the room and swept over her.

“Do you know how that ring works?” he snarled.

“How could I?  You never told me anything about it!”

“Let me correct that mistake. This is the ring of Lathur. An ancient entity like none you have ever seen. He used this ring to bind his lovers to him so that they would never part. But you see, “he was whispering now, leaning closer to her body, “The only way the ring worked is if his lovers accepted him. Body, mind and soul.”

She blew out a breath of exasperation. “I accepted the ring as a ruse of our marriage….”

He interrupted her with a nip to her neck, causing her hips to rock up into his. “No,” he breathed against her neck, “that is not how it works. Here,” he abruptly left her and stood beside the bed. “Take it off.”

She raised an eyebrow at him as she sat up. _Take it off?_ She thought, _Gladly._ She grasped the ring with her right hand and pulled. Nothing happened. It did not budge. She pulled again, muttering that it was stuck. No matter what she did over the next few minutes, with lotion or soap, it would not come off her finger. Finally, with a frustrated cry, she rounded on him and got in his face, ignoring the twinge of desire she felt being so close to him. “get it off me!” She hissed.

“I can’t. Only you can. You chose to put it on. Your acceptance, your need, you lust for me keep it on. If you really wanted to, you could take it off. But,” he leaned closer to her, their lips almost touching, “You don’t want to.”

 

She was fuming in the front seat of their rented car as they drove back to the Fringe. How the hell had she ever indicated that she wanted to be married to him? She wasn’t in love with him! She wasn’t! sure she visited him from time to time, would seek his counsel and even…well…flirt with him. But devotion strong enough to keep a magical ring on? That was laughable. She had never felt any real lust towards him until last night. This was all his doing.  She was so engrossed in her anger that she did not register their arrival nor her walk through the club doors into the main club. It was the thumping of the music that broke her from her thoughts. The party was in full swing tonight. Strobe lights were positioned on all levels and every vampire in the club was dancing as hard as their bodies would let them. Shayne was abruptly tired of all of this. She just wanted to leave. She wanted to get away from Alucard. She wanted to…go home. Not to Hellsing, but to her house. Away from all this craziness. She wanted to be human again. The wave of depression that hit her nearly had her rocking on her heels.

 _Tonight._ She said tersely to Alucard. _We end this tonight. I do not care how._ He did not answer her. He did not even look at her. His hand on her back was as light as a butterfly’s wing. He was still pissed about their argument. Not that he had anything to be pissed about. She is the one who had been… **Don’t even think it.** He snared in her head. _Feeling guilty?_ She snarled back. **No. I am tempted to show you the difference between what I did and rape.** She shuddered and moved away from him quickly, pushing her way through the crowd. He called after her and she ignored him. He attempted to speak to her through their mind link and she shut him down. Her anger was giving her a strength she had not previously had, and she used it to her advantage. She was so intent on walking and building up mental barriers, that she was not paying attention to where she was going. She crashed into Gadvias chest with a girly grunt.

“Well hello,” he said, cradling her in his arms and peering down at her with a cocky smile on his face. “I was hoping to see you again tonight…what’s wrong?” he asked as she struggled not to cry. Her damn emotions were getting the best of her.

“I have to go.” She said, trying to sidestep him. He hung on tight.

“Easy honey. You look upset. Come on, take a walk with me.” He said gently.

Shayne saw that this was her chance to end this mission. She could get him alone, kill him, then get the hell out of here. Maybe piss off Alucard in the process. This was supposed to be his kill after all.  “Fine let's go.” She said.

They walked away from the dance floor and made their way to the back door. He opened it for her and closed it behind them, shutting out the music. A long hallway with many doors was ahead of them and a small push to her lower back started her forward.

“What is wrong?” he asked for a second time. Shayne was hesitant to answer as she had not thought of anything to say. He wasn’t dazzling her tonight, which she was grateful, but also weary. A vampire like him would be up to his old tricks before long. She knew she was in the eye of his storm and soon he would use all of his arsenal against her. This time, Alucard was not around to save her. She snorted. Like she needed him.

“Mina….” Gadiva said again.

“Sorry…I….had a fight with Alu…John. He did some terrible things…I…” a real tear slipped down her cheek.

“You seem very shaken. You also smell different. A little…tainted.” He said, a sour look passing over his beautiful features. “I can guess what he did. Although, he did not take it all the way?”

“No…I…No.”

“You seem confused.”

“Can you….” Shayne took a breath, “Can you tell me about this ring?” she held up her left hand.

His eyes widened. “Do you not know? I thought you had to know about that ring before it would activate.”

“Activate?”

“Well….” He gave a small sigh, “ This is the ring of Lathur. Have you heard that name?” She nodded as he continued, “It is said that Lathur would give this ring to his beloved while she lived on the earth to bind her to him. The ring forms a bond between lovers that can only be broken by the wearer. They can choose to take it off, if they truly want to break the bond, they can also break it by being unfaithful. The longer the ring stays on the wearer's hand, the stronger the bond grows. As soon as the marriage it created is consummated by the breaking of the hymen, the bond solidifies. While you wear that ring, John is privy to all of your feelings. Once the bonded is complete, you will be privy to all of his. He will always be able to find you and vice versa. The ring is meant to be more permeant than marriage.”

“What if someone is tricked into wearing it?” she asked as they approached the last set of doors in the hallway.

“Tricked? Haha, you cannot be tricked. You have to want the person you are binding yourself to for it to work.”

“Bullshit.”

“I am sorry but it is true.”

“That…is impossible!”

“Do you love him?” Gadiva moved closer to her.

“What? I barely know him!” her hand slapped over her mouth at her mistake.

He chuckled and gripped her chin in his hand. A warmth began to spread through her body and she shuddered. “I know Shayne.” Her eyes widened at his use of her name. “I have known who you two were since you entered the club. I know who you work for and I know your intent.”

“Then…why give us access?” she asked as she struggled against the more forceful wave of lust he unleashed.

“To fuck you.” He said shrugging, unleashing everything he had. She felt her knees buckle and her body shudder when he reached out and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her closer.

“Why?”

“Why not?” he shrugged. “I eat, kill, and fuck whomever I like. To take the virginity of a Hellsing agent? One of Alucard's brides? How legendary would I be then?” he asked, his hand making its way into her dress.

Shyne was shaking with a…fasle…desire. It felt wrong. So wrong. As Gadiva pulled her into a room and began to undress her, she couldn’t help but mark the differences between this lustful experience and the one from last night. She was aching and throbbing for sure, but there was none of the fire she had felt last night. She was not in so much need that she couldn’t stand to keep her clothes on. As he pushed her onto a bed, she realized that she did not want this at all.

“No.,” she said clearly. “Get off me.”

Gadiva looked shocked for all of a second before he laughed and pinned her arms above her. She began to thrash, all of the lust disappearing. He growled angrily and slapped her across the face, telling her to be quiet and stop moving like a good girl. Shadows exploded around them and pinned her to the bed, spreading her legs and clamping around her mouth to keep her quiet.

“I’ll use that noisy mouth later.” He said as he began to disrobe. A chill swept through her bones. She was going to be raped. Alucard earlier wish was about to come true. She cried out in her mind to him over and over again, lowering the barriers to finding nothing. It was like he was gone. _Did he leave me?_ She wondered, tears springing to her eyes.

“Stop crying. I haven't even hurt you. Yet.” Gadiva gave her a sickening grin and pinched her nipples hard. _No, no, NO!”_

 **Do you see the difference now?** She almost wept with joy when his voice filtered through her head. _Please, Alucard…I’m sorry. Please don’t let him do this to me!_

“idiot,” Alucard said, causing Gadiva to whirl around mid undress. “As if I would let someone have you... YOU. ARE. MINE”

The vampires faced off, shadows gathering, snarls flying. They launched themselves at each other, drawing incredible amounts of blood. The room and Shayne were splattered with it. Shayne closed her eyes and listen to sounds of battle. She could easily distinguish  Alucards angry roars and could feel his power building. Something else was building in her too. As the sounds came to an abrupt halt and the shadows around her left, Shayne opened her eyes. Alucard stood in the middle of the room, absorbing the mass amounts of blood on the floor and walls.

“Mission over.” He said, bearly looking at her. “get dressed. Let’s go.” He was still angry.

 

Back at the manor, Shayne sat in Integras office and fiddled with her ring. Alucard has given his report and stomped off. Integra was simply filling in paperwork, and Seras was nowhere to be seen. Her dogs sat on either side of her, whimpering at her unhappiness. The whole trip back to the manor, the whole time they were doing and killing the vampires in the club, Alucard never spoke to her. He did not even look at her. He was angry with her and she wasn’t sure how to feel about it. She was still confused at her own feelings.

“Go Shayne. Go talk to him.” Integra said, without looking up.

“What can I say? I don’t even know how I feel about him.”

“How does he feel about you?”

“he wants to fuck me.” She said bluntly.

“Why?” Integra asked, looking over her rimmed glasses at Shayne. “What is so special about you?”

Shayne honestly did not know. She had a terrible childhood, had been hunted, tortured, beat by her own family. She had so many scars on her body she was surprised anyone would want to look at her….

“Oh!” Shayne closed her eyes as tears sprang to her eyes. He had seen them. he had seen them and he still had touched her. He still looked at her, worshiped her body with his eyes. Gadiva had not looked at her body after taking her clothes at. Alucard had. And he did not seem to care. He had protected her even though he was angry with her. He had trained her, even though he had better things to do. He had let her into his rooms, and even his master only got as far as the main room. She had sat with him at night reading her books while he swirled his wine and stared into nothing. He had mocked her and ridiculed her, but never had the teasing tone left his voice.

“What are you thinking?” Integra asked.

“Do you think that he….” She couldn’t finish the sentence.

“Loves you? Hardly.” Shayne sank into the chair. Beside her, the dogs glared at Integra.

“Let me correct myself. Love Is too dull a word. I have never seen him like this. He never lets someone make fun of him, tease him, insult him without retribution. He would never have turned you if he wasn’t interested in you in some capacity. With the police girl, he was reminded of an innocence lost. With you, he found a kindred spirit. Someone just as damaged as he was. He admires you. Has more respect for you than even me.  Most importantly, he gave you _her_ ring.”

“Mina's,” she asked.

“Yes. I had my first clue as to his feelings a few weeks ago while watching you train.”

Shayne remembered the moment vividly. Alucard was training her how to fight a proper vampire as he called himself. He was pulling out all the stops, using his shadows to throw her, piercing her skin with blades, sending his hellhounds after her. He had shown no mercy. Every time she fell, he snarled at her to stand, to fight, to never give up. Unfortunately, he seemed to have more faith in her abilities than she actually had. As the sky was turning to gold, he had thrown one last fired his gun at her, yelling for her to dodge. She didn’t  she was too tired to do so and the bullet had caught her in the shoulder.

She remembered the pain, how loud she had screamed. She remembered him carrying her to the mansion, muttering to himself angrily. She had awoken, several days later, nestled in his coffin, feeling rested and whole.

“He never lets anyone in his coffin,” Integra said, bring her to the here and now.

“I understand that he…has affection for me. I see that now. But love? Adoration? I do not see it.”

“Then go to him.”

 

Shayne took her sweet time making her way to his room. She was nervous, excited, and weary all at the same time. Would he turn her away? Would he scoff at her question? She needed to ask him. She needed him to say those three little words. She needed…, oh she didn’t know what she needed.

“Lost in thought again?” Alucard asked lightly from his perch on his throne.

Shayne couldn’t speak. All she could do was stare at him. He stared back and they staid that way fro a while. Neither one of them moved toward the other.

“What do you want?” he said quietly.

“I am not Mina.” She blurted out abruptly. “I am not her. I cannot be her.”

“I never said you were.”

“What am I then?” she asked, stepping closer to him.

“Mine.” He said simply.

“is that all?”

“Yes,”

“I do not understand.”

“Neither do I. I wanted you the moment I saw you. Not because I saw her. Because I saw you. You sprit, your will to live, your…heart. Your pain was painful to me. Your dreams haunted mine. I saw what that man did to you. I was angry because of it. On your behalf. I knew then that you were more than just a fledgling to me.”

“I still don’t understand.”

“Same boat Shayne. I accepted it, gave you the ring, and moved on from there.” 

“That is not how love works!”

He shrugged. He sincerely did not seem to care about the why, just the end result. Shayne was not able to let it go. She needed to know what about her ….fucked upness he could stand. **You’re not fucked up.**

“Yes I am.”

**You are not ugly.**

“Yes I am.”

**You are not weak. Unlovable. Pitiful. You are strength and power.**

“I’m broken.” She choked on a sob.

His hands were in her hair then and his mouth was on hers. **You think too much.** He deepend the kiss and the spark from the other night came to life with a vengeance. She sank into him with a whimper, and he chuckled into their kiss. His hands moved, whispering across her body. She blinked then, a litte disoriented. How did they get to a bed? Her clothes were…on the floor. He was above her, fully naked, and by the looks of it, fully ready.

“I lost you there for a minute.” He teased.

“what….?”

“The bond is powerful. Your mind couldn’t take it an blanked. Let's build some strength to deal with it shall we?” he asked, grinning suductivly.

She shuddered as he kissed his way down her body and settled between her legs. She thrashed has he brought her to several peaks with is tounge flickering over her clit and diving inside her to mimick sex motions. She squealed when his fingers pushed inside her and found her g spot. She shook as she came over and over again. She trembled when he loomed over her, postiong himself to thrust inside her.

His eyes glowed in the dark room and her ring answered the call. **This means there is no going back. I take you, the bond is solid. There will be no breaking it.** The last part of his sentence held a threat. _I won’t._ she assured him. _Break it, I mean._ **Then lay back and enjoy.** He said, giving her a cheeky grin.

His thrust was so hard she felt it in the back of her throat. She cried out long and loud when he continued to move inside her, twisting his hips, changing his pace, all with the intent on making her squeal louder and longer. His eyes worshiped her, gathering details, changing his rhythm based on how her body tightened, the sounds she made, and how she reacted. He fucked with the sole intention of making sure she was so overhwlemed that she would never want to leave his bed. She shuddered and writhed underneath him as the buildup ignighted and exploded, causing her back to arch, her eyes to roll back into her head, and her breath to catch in her throat. As he came inside her, her ring exploded with light, bathing them and the room in an eerie glow. She felt her waning orgasm suddley intensify and regain momentum, with out him moving. A single inch. He grinned down at her as she came again, following suit a few moments later. With a shout he ground his pelvis in her as hard as he could, before collapsing on top of her.

After laying there fore a while, unable to move from the extreme nature of their mating, Alcuard shifted, laid down beside her, and pulled her into his arms.

“After coitus cuddling? Will wonders never cease?” Shayne teased.

He slapped her ass. “Careful I may go another round to teach you a lesson.”

“Try, old man.”

He did more than just try.

 

 

 

 


	7. We are not done yet.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is short. And Smutty. Totaly smutty smut, smut. 
> 
> Sorry for the delay. I have been incredibly busy. After tonight, it will not be as bad. April is when I can truly focus on my hobbies (ill be done with school for good). I will continue to try to put out chapters, although they will not be as long as my previous ones.

Shayne awoke in a tangle of sheets soaked with sweat and smelling like sex. As she sat up and looked around her, she mused about that smell. She had often heard from other soldiers that good sex smelled like you were on the bow of a ship.

_“Get the motors running and you’ll wok out all the salt from your body, in one fluid or another” Dr. Shade had said, waggling his eyebrows at Shayne._

She smiled at that memory only to wince as she remembered seeing his head rolling by her, a terrified expression permanently marring his otherwise handsome face. **Thinking about other men while in my bed?** Alucard's teasing voice startled her greatly. _How many times have I told you not to talk in my head first thing in the evening?_  Her voice was grumpy and surly like it always was when she first awoke.  He chuckled and vivid memory flooded her mind.

She was above herself, watching herself sleep. She was thrashing around on the bed, begging for the pain to stop. Her hands were clutching the sheets and her head was twisting from side to side. Her breathing was rapid and bloody tears were falling from her cheeks. She felt herself lean over her own sleeping form, grab the sheets and yank them back, abruptly awakening herself.

“Alucard you asshole!”

Shayne felt a deep amusement sweep inside her and as she began to fade away from her other self, his voice filled both versions of her head. **Good evening to you too.**  Her other self clutched her head and snarled at her openly.

“It’s too early in the morning for that bullshit! Go away!”

 **Why are you so afraid of me being in your head? Are you afraid of what I will see? Or what I have already seen?**  A smirk played crossed her lips, and she remembered seeing that smile from her other self’s floor lower vantage point and being pissed.  But Shayne noticed something else too. She didn’t quite look the same from this vantage point. She had seen herself in mirrors, and the beauty in front of he, glaring daggers, was not her. She was too…polished. Her hair was a mess but it seemed, sexy almost. Her large pores, her too large nose, and ugly scars all seemed to vanish or be…beautiful now.

“Is that how you see me?” Shayne asked as she was returned to the hear and now. Alucard was now standing in front of the bed, an unreadable expression on his face.

“Is that not how you see yourself?”

“Um…no.”

“What would you change?” he asked in the same light and dangerous tone he used on his enemies.

Shayne shuddered. “Well….” He raised an eyebrow to tell her to continue. “ I would make my pores smaller for starters, Make my skin tone match, grow some nails I could actually paint,” she looked wistfully at her nails before continuing, “Get rid of the stomach fat I never could shed, get rid of these scars….” At his grow she stopped, eyes wide.

“What did I tell you last night?” he said, using the same light tone.

“You told me a lot of things last night.” She said cheekily.

He smiled at that but continued in the same tone, “I said, you are not ugly. Are you calling me a liar?”

“No,” she squeaked out, “Every woman wants to change something about herself. Look, if it makes you feel better, if I had to choose any of them, it would be the scars.”

“Are you afraid I will run? Like Terry did?”

She gasped. How did he know about Terry?  “You’ve been rummaging through my head.” She said flatly.

“You were my servant and now my wife. I am allowed to do that.”

“You make it sound like I am your property!”

“You are”

Shayne's eyes snapped fire at him. With a large amount of anger, she threw the bed sheets back and looked around for her clothes. He watched her as she stomped around looking for them, Unable to find them, she whirled on him.

“Where are my clothes. I am leaving.” She said as calmly as she could.

“Down here you won’t wear them.”

“You’re wearing them!” she said pointing his clothes exasperated.

He shrugged. “Easy fix” and his clothes melted from his body. Shayne gulped and cast her eyes away from him. Him naked and at full mast was not something she needed to see right now. She needed to be pissed at him damn it!

“You could have at least asked!”

“About?”

“Terry!” she exclaimed.

He shrugged again, reuttering his sentiment of ownership over her. She was livid at this point. “Go to hell” she snarled, stomping towards what she thought was a hall way. He reached out and snatched her wrist, throwing her back on the bed. She bounced once before he was on top of her, using his many shadow hands to pin her down.

“Get off!”

“Gladly.”

“You do not own me!” she nearly screamed in his face.

“Tell me about Terry.”

“Huh?”

He raised his eyebrow, waiting. “You already know.” He continued to stare down at her, not moving an inch. She sighed angrily.

_Terry had been the love of her life. They had been dating since she was  21 her first boyfriend.  When she was 23, he asked her to marry him. She was delighted. Terry was the only person outside of her family who knew what had happened to her, and he still wanted to be with her. She was so excited as she planned her wedding and honeymoon, that not even her father could bring her spirits down. The wedding had gone off without a hitch, and they were soon in their honeymoon suite in Rome. It was time to consummate their marriage, and Shayne was nervous beyond reason._

_“Hey,” Terry said, smiling at her, “it’s okay. I’ll be gentle.” He teased._

_“it’s not that…” she had to take a deep breath. “My scars…”_

_“They cannot be as bad as you think they are.” He said, rising up from the bed to kiss her._

_“let me see.” He said._

_She had. She had stripped herself and stood in front of him complete naked, body, mind and soul.  Several moments had passed and he had not said anything.  When Shayne went to speak, he held a hand up, jumped up, and dashed to the bathroom. She heard him throwing up in the bathroom sink._

“Married and divorced in the same two days. I might as well be a celebrity”. Shayne said, still glaring up at her so called husband.

“He didn’t see your worth.”

Shayne shrugged the best she could being pinned down. “He saw me broken…what now?” she asked as the hands tightened around her.

“You are not broken.” He hissed.

“You saw my mind. What would you call it?” she demanded.

“Beautiful chaos,” he said grinning cheekily.

She rolled her eyes. “What was the point of making me recount that?”

“So I can show you why I own you.”

“You don’t….” she stopped talking. Those hands holding her had started moving. Just like the first night, his carpal hands stayed still, while his shadow hands moved over her body, hitting every erogenous zone she had, all at once. She whimpered when those phantom fingers slipped inside her and began pumping in and out of her in a slow, agonizing pace.

“When a man owns something, he likes to see it and feel it in his hands” the shadow fingers gave a sharp twist inside her and she groaned. “He’ll take it off it’s shelf every day to touch it, hold it, caress it.” The fingers began pumping faster. “He will know every inch of it and know exactly what makes it tick. He will do everything he can and all he has to do to make sure that his treasure is never harmed and is only seen by him. He’ll live for it, and die with it. “ The shadow hands grabbed Shayne’s legs and yanked them apart, opening her wider for deeper thrusts. He lowered himself then, and set to devour her with his mouth while those fingers continued to pump in and out of her. **What a man treasures knows his every secrete. That’s why he becomes jealous anytime someone goes near it. Possessive.**  When her core began to tighten and her climax was about to burst he said, **Maybe own isn’t strong enough of a word. I possess you. Get over it.** She came so hard she saw stars behind her eyes. The glow of her ring filled the room once more , but this time, did not fade. Even after her climax, those fingers had not stopped moving and his tongue had not stopped it’s assault.

 _I…I can’t!_ She cried out to him _._

 **Challenge accepted.** He said smugly.


	8. What the actual fuck?

Shayne yawned into her hand as she sat, waiting in Integra’s office for the ill-tempered leader to appear. They had been summoned ten minutes ago, much to Alucards annoyance and Shayne’s relief. He had a lot more stamina than she did. Maybe having all that sexual inclination pent up for over 150 years had taken its toll on the elder vampire. While there was never a dull moment their bed, it was beyond exhausting. Shayne just wanted to get this night over with so she could go to sleep. As if hearing her plea, Integra marched in the room, slamming the door against the wall as she entered.

“Something the matter, my master?” Alucard asked, grinning with anticipation. Shayne had noticed that any time Integra entered a room in such a manner, they were about to be sent on a particularly bloody battle. That also meant that the body count was already high and many innocent people had been killed.

“Its bad,” Integra said, confirming Shayne’s suspicion. “It seems the death of their leader did not stop the members of the “Fringe”. They went ahead with their “eat, fuck, and kill,” night.” The older woman sighed and lit a cigar, inhaling deeply, before exhaling a large plume of gray smoke.

“What are your orders?” Alucard asked, nearly bouncing with anticipation.

“Go to Barick. Find all those responsible for the deaths of the innocent and kill them. Kill them all!  Alucard, you worry about the pests. Shayne, you get anyone who is still alive out. Those are your main objectives. Now go. Seras is already on her way.”

Alucard bowed to Integra and Shayne simply gave a half-hearted salute. Before she knew it, the world was fading to black. Although they had traveled this way many times, Shayne was still not used to fading completely out of existence, then reappearing. Normally, it took her a few moments, much to Alucard's amusement, to readjust. But as soon as they landed at their destination, the screams of the living, terrorized by the vestiges of evil chasing them snapped her out of any daze she would normally be in.  She immediately sprang into action, gun at the ready, running toward the sounds of the dying. Alucard had disappeared, but she was sure that he was working to fulfill his part of the mission. Hours went by as she led several hundred to their safety behind the barrier that the knights had put in place. Gunshots and screams continued to pierce the night sky as she continued to run through the town, and the forest that surrounded it, looking for survivors and gunning down any resistance in her path.  As she rounded the corner of a building, she was greeted by two familiar faces.

“Shayne!” Helga called out, merrily. _Apparently, she doesn’t know about Gadiva._ She thought to herself.  The older woman approached her, drenched in blood and smiling like a maniac. _The again…maybe she does._

“I have been waiting for you to turn up again, Hellsing dog!”

 _How the hell did she find out? We left in a hurry and no one saw us!_ Out loud Shayne said, “How did you find out?” and cocked her gun in the woman’s direction.

“Gadiva told us of course.”

“Well….shit.” was all Shayne could think to say.

Helga smiled wickedly before launching herself at Shayne. She did not make it very far as Shayne was much more practiced at firing her weapon then she had been previously. Helga was dust before she was even a foot away from her. _Well, that takes care of…oh.my.gosh…_ Shayne’s mind went blank.  There he was, Gadiva, staring at her from across the street, smiling at her. And he wasn’t alone. The man, from her nightmares, from her childhood, the sadistic bastard that had chained her up, beat and torched her stood beside him, smirking at her.

“Hello Shy, I missed you.” He said in his falsely gentle voice.  She hated his voice. It was like a sugar-coated venomous bite with every syllabus he uttered. He was speaking words of love, encouragement, praise her for her bravery as he sawed into her flesh and bone or whipped her until she was nothing but a bloody mess on the floor of his basement. He would coo at her when he hugged her, kissed her, and cleaned her bruised and beaten body, before strapping her, naked on a table to continue his assault until she passed out from fear, pain, or blood loss.

“What a surprise to find out that the girl I was trying to fuck was already claimed by my brother,” Gadiva said in his silky, smoky voice.

“How are you alive?” she asked both of them, stepping back as they stepped toward her.

“We are very old, my love. It will take more than a nail gun to the head or a shadow battle to kill us” her nightmare hissed, reminding her of the gruesome method she had used to finally escape him. To be fair, he had been using it on her legs at the time.

“Ferine, I think your lovely bride is a bit shook up,” Gadiva said, laughing.

“I am not his bride,” Shayne hissed, raising her gun.

“She’s mine,” Alucard said behind her, gripping her waist and drawing her close to him. She was not sure where he came from, but she was glad he was here. **Snap out of it.** Alucard said harshly in her head. **We both need to be cognoscente. I see now that these two have abilities that match my own. It will be difficult to kill them. be on your guard.**

“Saw her first.” Ferine said lightly, shadows starting to dance around him, “and I am not letting her get away this time.”

“Not a virgin any longer,” Gadiva observed, frowning a bit, “that will make this less fun.”

A loud growl made them all turn their heads towards Ferine. He was staring, fixated on Shayne’s left hand. When he looked her in the eye, she saw death and destruction and a promise of pain she had never felt before. _He is angry about the ring,_ She thought in wonder. Did this asshole really think that he had ever owned her? That he had ever had a shot at making her his bride?

“I guess that finger is the first to go,” Ferine said, voice dripping with toxic intentions.

“Touch her. I dare you.” Alucard said, leveling both his guns on the brothers.

“Do you think those will work on us?” Gadiva asked with a snort.

“Only one way to find out,” Alucard said, moving so fast that even Ferine, the older of the three, could not react fast enough. Both men found themselves riddled with bullets and the hounds of hell tearing at their flesh, while Alucard shadows pummeled them viciously.  They fought back, launching their own familiars at Alucard and wrestling him with their own shadows. Shayne tried to summon her own shadows but found that she couldn’t. _How the hell did I do it last time?_ She struggled with what to do. She did not want to just stand there and stare like an idiot, but she could not see any way that she could help her husband. **Behind you, simpleton!** Alucard roared in her head.

Shayne spun around was wacked in the face with a crowbar. Tripp growled down at her and raised the bar to hit her again. She dodged his attack and fired her gun. He was much faster than his dead wife and dodged the bullet with ease. He moved so fast and without a discernable pattern that Shayne could not keep up with him. He surrounded her in a whirlwind, hitting her rapidly with his crowbar or his fist, and all she could do was stand there and take it. Her ribs snapped and her arm was broken. She found herself seething with anger.

“Damn them! Damn you!” She screamed, shadows exploding from her being. Once she saw them, she mentally grabbed a hold of them, feeling their dark power filling her senses. With a push, she sent them from her body to snatch Tripp out of his deadly dance and hold him in place. She hit him again, and again, letting out all of her rage and pain on him until he was unrecognizable. When he stopped moving, she used her gun to finish him off. She whirled from his dust dancing in the air to see a monstrous scene behind her. The moon was being overshadowed by the three elder vampires battle, and snarls filled the air. Just as she was about to join them, she heard a tiny cry from a car on the street behind her. Immediately, she spun on her heel and ran toward the sound.

Inside the car was a baby. A baby covered in his mother's blood and the mother was starting to rise from her death. _Damn!_ Shayne thought, looking back at the raging battle behind her. **Take the child and go.** Alucard said in her head. Her decision was made when the dead mother opened her sunken eyes and looked at her childlike one would look at a Christmas dinner. Shayne screamed and punched out the glass, snatching the baby up as gently as she could, and putting a bullet through the mothers head. The baby continued to wail, dirty, tired, and terrified. Shayne shook as she once again looked at the battle behind her, praying that Alucard's shadow was the biggest one there. **Draga, get the hell out of here!!!**  He roared in her head and gave her a mental push. She stumbled back, the infant in her arms, turned and ran for her life.   


	9. Baby Mine

She ran for what felt like hours through the blazing streets, careful not to crush the infant in her arms. She was worried, for the first time, on how Alucard would fare in battle. He had defeated many a foe before and had bested a magical cat that almost took his life and unlife, hell he had defeated himself over a million times, but still, she was worried. Who knew how he would fare in this battle, in this town…that she just realized she had no idea how to get out of.

“Son of a bitch!” she exclaimed as she slowed her run to a halt. How the hell was she supposed to leave then she was not the one who had brought them here in the first place? As she looked over the crest of the hill she was on, watching the town from a distance, she realized that she could still see the battle taking place. While she could not completely leave as she had no transportation, she could at least watch and wait for him to come.

Shadows rose over the city, each vying for dominance in the battle that was taking place beneath them. Each time a shadow increased, she hoped and prayed that it was his. Shayne experienced an out of body sensation then, suddenly starting in front of a memory of an event that had taken place not too long ago.

She had stood in horror, restrained by multiple vampires of the same creed which had laid a clever trap for her and Alucard. Upon entering a building where these fiends had last been reported as taking residence, the floor had given away as an explosion had rocked the building, taking her and Alucard with it. He had shrouded them both in his shadows, and hey had landed on the floor below with few injuries. Well, she had a few, he had none the bastard.  As soon as his shadows receded, a silver net had dropped on both of them. Shayne had screamed and passed out from the sheer magnitude of the pain.

When she had come to, she was pinned down in silver shackled with three vampires standing guard. When they saw she had awoken, they snickers at her before stepping back to give her a better view of the scene before her. There he was, in chains that encased his entire body, his gun cast to the side of the room. Above him, was a contraption covered in syringes, that was aimed directly at his face. A female vampire was leering at him.

“Well!” she said, looking Shayne with a great deal of mirth,” you woke up just in time to see the miracle of science.!”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Shayne rasped out.

“With your master’s DNA, we can replicate his power and utilize for ourselves.”

“Ummm” was all Shayne could say. Alucard snorted. But remained silent.

“Don’t you want to know how?” the female had asked.

Despite the look on their faces, the female vampire started to rant on about the wonders of splicing DNA and utilizing to make a new and more powerful breed of vampires.

“I do apologize though,” she said when she had finished her fanatical rant, “I hate to mar that lovely face of yours Alucard, but it’s the only way to get the DNA without you having a chance to escape. Too bad.” She said as she leaned over and swiped a finger slowly down his face. Shayne had rolled her eyes at the action while Alucard had smirked.

“you’re a heartbreaker boss” Shayne had called in a bored voice. He had chuckled at that and said nothing.  Shayne was still struggling to pick the lock of her chains discreetly when the machine had whirred to life, lower itself to her masters face. She felt panic then, as she struggled against the locks to break them. when she had broken free, she had been snagged by the would-be vampire guards and held in place. She watched din horror as the device drew closer to his face.

“Shayne, “ he had said almost sweetly, “do you really doubt my abilities so?”

Her memory merged with her current frame of mind as she heard Alucards voice echo that sentence in her mind.  Her head snapped up as she saw a figure approaching the bottom of the hill. It was Alucard! Beaten, bleeding and tired, but it was him none the less. She called out his name and ran to him, once again making sure the sleeping infant in her arms was not crushed.  When she reached him, she threw her unoccupied arm around him. He grunted.

“ Sorry!” she exclaimed.

“I’m a little worse for wear.” He said faintly. Now she was really worried. He was in pain, and showing it.

“But you won?” she asked in a small voice.

“…for now,”

“For now?” she echoed like an idiot.

“They…fled before I was able to finish them” he said finally after a long pause. She was astonished.

“I thought you said not to doubt your abilities?” she asked somewhat cheekily.

He nearly rolled his eyes at her, before reaching for her. He stopped short when he saw the child in her arms. He seemed to have an internal conflict with himself. Shayne raised an eyebrow at him as his expression grew passive.

“Let’s go.” Was all he said as she shrouded them in his shadows once more.

Back in the office, Shayne was sitting on a chair in front of Integra’s desk, feeding the baby from a bottle. One of the doctors on site had both the bottle and formula oddly enough, so Shayne had volunteered to feed her. As she watched the baby, making sure to pulled bottle out of its mouth once in a while so it could breathe between drinks, she could hear Integra making frantic phone calls, trying to locate a service to take the infant.

“I don’t care who you have to wake up…” integra growled into the phone with all the menace she was renowned for using.  As Shayne burped the child, she could feel the weight of Alucards eyes on her.

“What?” she asked him bluntly as she held the now sleeping infant close.

“you cannot keep her.” He said, his face set in hard lines.

She blinked at him, nonplused. Then she remembered his story…the three wives…Lucy…and their reaction to children she signed as she looked down at the child she had already become attached to. She knew the child would not stay with her and did not have a chance of staying with her, but she still felt a little wistful.

“Stop it.” Alucard said harshly, causing her to look at him again. “You gave all of that up when you chose the night. Do not pine for it.”

“Alucard…I’m not going to act that way alright? It doesn’t mean I will never look at children and wish, on some degree, that I could have them. You will have to get over that.”

“many have made that mistake…” he began but halted when she raised her hand to silence him.

“I am not like that.” She stated firmly.

“See that you hold true to that.” She said shortly, before looking at the baby once more and turning away.

All too soon, protective services came and took the sleeping child away. As she lay there in their shared bed, Shayne could not help but to ache from the loss of the child in her arms. While he was annoyed, Alucard seemed to understand and pulled her into his arms with a long-suffering sigh.

“You gave this up.” He reminder softly.

“I know….I know…damn it I know.” She said tiredly.

“Sleep Draga. You’ll be more clear heed in the morning.

 _I hope._ He thought as she settled down to sleep..


	10. Succubus, Round two

Succubus, round two

Trapped. The inky darkness had her trapped. All she could hear was the damned eternal dripping of the acid in the vat on the table in the far back corner. All she could feel was the cold steel slab at her back and the biting of the glass-lined leather at her wrists. Her breaths came out in shallow stints as she struggled to calm herself. Somewhere in the distance, an infant wailed. She was back, back in this God forsaken place. The black curtain around her did nothing to conceal the horrors the room contained. She knew where every tool of torcher was located, what every sound she heard was because she had lived here for so long.

The scraping of those familiar boots reached her ears, and she squeezed her eyes shut, like that would stop what she knew was coming next. that hateful noise dragged itself down the stairs, and she could feel his eyes on her. It did not matter if he attempted to be quiet or not, she always knew he was there. Those damn soulless eyes. He started to whistle a jaunty tune as he moved around the room, first to the restraint rack, then to the acid, and finally to the tool rack in the opposite side of the room. He knew she could hear him. He knew she knew what he was gathering, what he was about to do. Why else would he have placed these items all around her? To instill as much terror as he could before he would…

He swooped in, and his face was just inches from hers. Just as she had predicted he would do. Always the same scare routine, although, it hardly frightened her any more, but he did not seem to know that, nor did he care. He probably just found it amusing. Her thoughts ran in circles as she looked into those lifeless eyes. His lip curled into a snarl, although he probably thought he was smiling. He began to coo at her, telling her how strong and how brave she was and asking her to forgive him for causing her pain. He was just “making her stronger” so that she may become a “suitable mate”. Honestly, the thought of him planning their wedding scared her more than the pain that was about to come. His face turned into a real scowl then and he slapped her across the face, hard.

“Looks like you have been tainted. I need to fix that,” he looked at the acid, nail gun and extra restraints. “Oops, it looks like have grabbed the wrong tools. I need something else.” He slipped away into the darkness again. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she recognized that this was not the way the dream usually went. Her shallow breaths became more pronounced until she was dizzy from almost hyperventilating. _Breathe normally._ She warned herself, struggling to follow her own command. The scrapping of a tool at the tool wall caught her attention…the…saw? He was back in her face in an instant.

“Got you that time didn’t I dearest?”, Ferine chortled to himself. As was their game, Shayne did not speak. Slowly, making sure to scrap her arms deeply with the glass, he removed the restraint on her left hand. He yanked it up and, in the darkness, the ring on her hand glowed. _Ring?_ She thought, a little dumbfounded.

“That’s right, the ring. I am sorry to say I have to remove it, dearest. And the child too. You have been very naughty.”

 _Child?_  She looked and to her amazement, her belly was full, like she was.... pregnant. For the first time, she spoke.

“I do not understand.”

“No,” said Ferine…no…the other things…what did Alucard call it?... Succubus said. “it makes sense. You see my dear, these restraints, this room has you shackled to Ferine, this ring has you shackled to him, and that baby, well, you were forced to give that up weren’t you. Before she could speak, a familiar voice whispered, **the choice was all yours.**

“The choice was mine” she stated, staring the succubus in the eyes that were now a golden blue color.

“You were stolen from haven”

“I was stolen from one hell and put into another.” She retorted.

“Forced to marry another.”

 **That’s not how the ring works** the familiar voice whispered again.

“That’s not how the ring works.” She stated to the unraveling vision in front of her.

“You were tricked.”

**No.**

_Well actually yes. Wait...I…who are you?_

**Is that what you really believe? You know who I am.**

_I…what is happening!?!_

**Calm down. I can help yo-**

“What, all out of retorts?” the succubus snarled.

_Help me! Please!_

The room began to shift and rattle, cause the creature to take a step back from her. The table shook, the glass cut into her arms and lights began to dance in the air. She closed her eyes as the hellish screams that started to sound around her gained momentum. She was dizzy, so dizzy, and in the distance, above all the screams, she could hear a baby wailing. Her heart broke as the scream was suddenly cut off, and maniacal laughter took it’s place. Her heart felt like it tore in two as the world continued to spin.

The sudden stop threw her off her balance, and she crashed forward, arms suddenly free from her restraints. The ground was rushing up at her and she threw her hands around her stomach to protect the baby from the fall.  Strong arms caught her, stopping her descent to the hard floor. She gave a strangled cry and tried to get away from whoever had her. Friend? Foe? She had no idea.

“Easy Draga”, a rough, highly accented voice said. Her head snapped up and she stared into a pair of whine colored eyes. As the strange man lifted her to her feet, she could not help but think she knew him.

“Have you forgotten me already?” he asked, teasing lit carrying through his voice as he drew her to his chest. He was familiar, and as she sank into his chest, she felt...safe.  Safer than she has felt in some time.

“I would not let harm come to you.” The man said, stroking her hair. She was about to relax when she heard the dreaded scrapping of boots behind her. She whirled in the stranger’s arms to stare at her nightmare once more.

“This is him!” it hissed, “the one who took everything from you”. She shrank back farther into her husband’s embrace …husband?

“You are starting to remember.” He said, kissing the top of her head. To the creature he said, “she belongs to me.”

“I had her first count, long before you knew her!”

“Actually, I think Ferine beat us both. However, whoever has her now is the winner, and that victor would be me.”

As they traded barbs, Shayne looked around the room. They were in a brightly lite room with castle -esque features. Banners draped the walls, and before them, a hall of sorts was set up for a meal, but no one was there. The floor and windows had trappings with rich purple and red colors adoring them. everything in the room was rich and fine and fit for a king.

“Or a Count”, He said, ignoring his foe to look down at his wife. She looked up at him, struggling to remember who he was.

_I know that face. I know those eyes...I know him. Why can I not remember him?_

The count sighed. “You will.” She felt a twinge of guilt, which he soothed by kissing her on the cheek before pushing her behind him. “We are about to battle Shayne. Step back.”

 _When did they draw weapons?_ The creature had a sword in its hands and …her husband had a …claymore? **It seems I have to step up in my tutelage in weaponry.** _Sure?_  She was overwhelmed as she sat in his throne waiting for one of them to strike the other. They glared each other down from opposite sides of the hall. She held her breath and wrapped her arms around her middle, waiting.

 Suddenly the creature struck, and the count brought his claymore up to meet its blade. Sparks flew and the fight ensued. The ran at each other laughing and swinging their blades. The sound of metal hitting metal rang down the hall and in her ears. Blood began to splatter the walls as they stabbed, jabbed, and sliced each other. _Oh god, if he doesn’t win…_

The claymore seemed to falter in its owner's hand. He gritted his teeth and clutched the weapon harder, swinging the blade again. **I can not help you when you block me so.**

 _Me?_ She asked, bewildered.

 **Yes. Believe in me. Believe in yourself.**  The blades crashed again.

_Believe in the broken._

**What did I tell you our first night?**

“I’m fucked up” she whispered.

  **You’re not fucked up.**

“Yes, I am.”

**You are not ugly.**

“Yes, I am.”

**You are not weak. Unlovable. Pitiful. You are strength and power.**

“I’m broken.” She choked on a sob.

**Are you calling me a liar?**

Suddenly, the voice broke through and she saw him. She finally saw him.

“Alucard!” she cried out, jumping from the chair to run for him.

The world began to shift again, but she did not care. The succubus began to scream, but she did not car. As the leather and chain mill faded into the red jacket she knew so well, she covered the last of the distance and leaped into his arms. She kissed him. She kissed him with all the strength she had and held on for dear life. He responded in kind as the world melted around them, silted, and shifted so that she was laying on top of him in their bed.

When they finally came up for air, so to speak, he smirked at her.

“What?”

“That is the first time you have initiated anything.” He rolled his hips up. She laughed.

“I don’t have to initiate anything for you to be ready.”

“Oh, but it’s a much headier “ready” when you participate wholly heartily.”

“Do I not?” she asked, but even as those words left her mouth, she realized that he was right. She never really had been completely there. She had just assumed that it was due to how overwhelming it was to be with him, but in reality, it was because she was holding back.

“I guess..” he raised his eyebrow for her to continue, “I guess I never really forgave you for how our marriage came about. I never forgave myself for the choice I made.” She laid her hand on her now flat belly. “I never thought you could…” she trailed off.

“Save you?” he guessed.

She nodded, looking at his chest rather than his face. He shoved her then, catching her by surprise before she realized that he was positing her above himself,  when he had her full attention, he pulled her please down to his, sliding into her inch by inch, his eyes never leaving hers. When she was fully seated, she shuddered. At the fullness, she felt.

“ride me.” He said.

“I…how?”

He chuckled and grabbed her hips, moving her in long glides. She caught on fairly quickly and lost herself in the sensation. He watched her arch her back as his hands slide up to cup her breasts. She became progressively more aggressive as she changed her pace and tempo to what made her feel good and he smiled as he watched her finally let go. As she came, clutching him deep inside her, he laughed with a joy he had not felt in a long time.

“Shayne, if you come like that every time…” he exploded inside her when her muscles clenched him when he shifted. Shuddering he continued, “You can ride me every night.”

She blushed, then slapped his chest. “be careful, I may take over our nights.”

“You can try, love. “

She accepted that challenge and started moving again.


	11. Biology Lesson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Note: It takes me much longer to write chapters for all my stories due to the fact that I have my grandmother living with me now and she is a handful. I also have some fairly hard times coming and some that have already hit. I am hoping that soon, I won’t be feeling this much apathy towards everything. I know where this story is going, it’s just hard for me to get it there right now. Thank you for your patience.

It had been months since Ferine and Gadiva had made their appearance. As a matter of fact, they had not been spotted at all. It was making Shayne antsy and a certain red-clad someone angrier. No matter how he searched, no matter who Hellsing put on the case, they could not locate the terrible duo. It was like the just disappeared off the face of the earth.  While on the surface, life seemed to return to normal, Shayne could not help but feel that an east wind was coming. She was constantly distracted and could not concentrate for more than a half hour at a time. Migraines speared her skull on a regular basis and she had recently started vomiting due to the stress. As a matter of fact, eating was next to impossible for her. Her eyes had started to take on a sunken appearance and her skins pallor was whiter than even Alucards. He constantly urged her to eat, and upon his insistence, she would drink the blood, only to vomit it up again. She used to be able to hold some of it down, but she was at a point where she could not stomach hardly any of it.

“Vampires don’t vomit,” Alucard said as he held back her hair.

“Apparently, they do,” Shayne said, getting up from her kneeling position to rinse out her mouth.

“This is not normal.” He insisted.

She regarded him over her shoulder. “So, what? Do I go to a doctor?” she rolled her eyes at him as she passed him, intent on laying back down as her head was killing her.

“Yes.” He said, surprising her enough that she faltered in her step. “We have doctors who know enough that they may be able to determine what is wrong with you.” He continued, grabbing her elbow to guide her to the door.

“Well, If I had known that I would have gone sooner!” she slapped his arm.

“I do not relish the idea of you…getting tested by them.” he did not look at her in the eye when he said this. As they walked through the hallway, traveling via his shadows caused her to violently lose all her stomach contents, she realized why he looked away. Although he did not talk about his past unless directly asked, albeit a bit begrudgingly, Shayne had been able to paste together bits and pieces of what Hellsing did to make Alucard into the badass he was today. She could understand why he might be hesitant to take her to a laboratory for any reason. As they approached the doors, she squeezed his arm reassuringly. He snorted, as if to say, are YOU comforting ME? As they entered the room, a wide-eyed intern looked at them in awe before shaking her head and getting up to greet them.

“Hello,” she said, tugging at her long blonde hair, “How can I be of assistance?”

“Shayne needs medical attention,” the elder vampire began, removing his trademark glasses to look the intern completely in the eyes, “and you are to find out what is wrong with her. Anything you find you will tell us. Any treatments you recommend will be approved by me. Do you understand?” his voice had taken that softly dangerous tone he liked to use to scare people. The intern nodded, wide-eyed.

“Stop scaring her.” Shayne said, rolling her eyes.

“O-o-okay.” The intern directed her attention to Shayne, “Please tell me what symptoms you are experiencing.”

Two hours later, Shayne had been poked, prodded, x-rayed, and ultra-sounded. A camera had been stuck down her throat, causing her to vomit, and her blood was currently being tested as she lay in the hospital bed, waiting for Alucard to approve the procedure of placing an IV in her heart as a means o keeping her blood in circulation. After an older doctor kindly explained the procedure, and that yes, it will hurt some, he reluctantly approved it. The doctor wasn’t kidding. It hurt like a bitch. As they slipped the long needle directly into her heart, she struggled to keep a straight face to avoid having a certain someone go off in a blood rage.

Seras and Integra had entered the room a few minutes ago and were watching the procedure with open fascination. After the elder doctor was done, Seras raised her hand like she was a schoolgirl in a classroom. The doctor smiled kindly at her and nodded his consent for her to ask her question.

“Why does Shayne need the needle to go directly in her heart Doctor….?”

“Amunz. Dr. Amunz. You must not know much about your biology.: Seris shook her head so Dr. Amunz continued. “ When a human consumes food, their stomach acid breaks down the nutrients and carries it to several locations within the bodies systems. When a vampire consumes blood, they do not have so many areas that their body needs the nutrients carried to.  The main areas are the muscles, the brain, and the heart, as well as the veins and genitalia. All other organs are useless to Vampires. In order to effectively circulate the blood to those areas, the body transports the blood to the heart for distribution. The mechanism or how that occurs in a vampire is unknown at this time. However, we are reasonably certain that what we know currently is solid. That is why we started with the…”

The doctor was quick enough to signal Alucard to hold Shayne down before she almost lurched forward in an attempt to vomit. Once Dr. Amunz safely removed the needle, Shayne was able to lean over the side to throw up.

“Strike one doctor.” Alucard snarled, eyes blazing.

“Be.Nice” Shayne snarled between breaths.

“No,” Said the doctor, sounding remorseful, “Obviously I did not think that part through enough. I apologize.”

“Think.More.Clearly. One wrong move and she would be dead right now.”

Shayne placed her hand on her husbands and tugged it so he would look at her. “It wouldn’t have destroyed my heart so calm down.”

“Hearts are delicate.” Was all he could seem to snarl.

“What now?” Integra asked smoothly.

Before the Doctor could speak, the blonde intern from before returned panting as though she had run up the hallway to get to them.

“Shelby?!” Dr. Amunz said, sounding alarmed.

“I’m…sorry...hold on,” she took a minute to catch her breath then said, “ I know why she is sick. It’s the blood she has been consuming. It’s tainted. “

“What?” Alucard hissed, turning towards her slowly.

Shelby gulped before for addressing the room as a whole, “I found traces of silver nitrate in her system. I also found garlic and another anomaly I have yet to identify.”

 She held up her hand when Alucard went to speak. “Please, just let me finish.”

He glared but remained silent. “Since blood consumed is delivered to the body directly via the heart, I first checked her scans. It revealed that she has silver in her muscles, veins, heart, and stomach lining. Like it has been collecting there in small amounts for some time. The garlic seems to dissipate in her blood, meaning she is possibly gaining a resistance to it by repeated exposure to it. Her sickness, her headaches and body aches, come from consuming these in her blood packets.”

“Then why has Seris not been affected? Why has Alucard not detected those traces in his own blood packets?” Integra asked, stepping forward to stand beside her servant.

“You all have different refrigerators.”

There was some confusion in the room until Shayne understood. If each vampire had a refrigerator with their own designated blood, then someone could easily slip in and switch out or contaminate a specific vampire’s blood.  She explained this, out loud to the group stunned as she asked, “Why target me?”

“Who have you angered?” Integra asked simply.

After a pause, Seris piped up with “Gadiva? Ferine?”

“No. I would have sensed them.” Alucard said.

“Your parents? Would they be resourceful enough to slip in unnoticed or pay someone to do it?” Integra asked.

Shayne snorted, “Themselves, no. Hire someone? Possibly.”

“So we cannot rule that out. Who in this organization might be angry with you? Integra asked, charging full steam ahead.

“Officer Dogal.” Seris piped again.

Orange tinted glasses glinted before  the question was posed by their possessor, “Why would Officer Dogal be a threat?”

Shayne smiled sheepishly. “I broke his hand for grouping me.” Those glasses glinted her now.

“Oh, we weren’t together then so relax.” She waved him off the subject.” He was flirty, I ignored his advances, he became more aggressive, I told him to back off, then he decided to grab a handful of my ass, so I broke the offending appendage. End of story.”

Alucard's lips twitched despite his anger. Integra looked pissed and excused her self to make a phone call, and everyone else looked uncomfortable.

“What was the other anomaly you found?” Alucard asked, turning his attention back to Shelby.

“I do not know…would …would you like to look?” He arched a brow at her and she continued to fumble her speech. “It… looks like a symbol of some sorts…my eyes could be playing tricks but…”

“I’ll come look.” He said smoothly, gesturing her to guide the way.

As they walked away, Shayne signed as she leaned back against her pillows. The doctors were talking in the corner again, trying to determine their next move, and Seris was fussing over her pillows. At Shayne's request, Seris went to check on poor Shelby. All Shayne could do now was wait to see what else they discovered and pray that something could be done to fix this problem. She was getting incredibly tired of looking like a character out of the Nightmare Before Christmas.


	12. What did you do?

**What did you do?** _What did you do?_ What did you do?   Around and around that questions swirled on the void surrounding Shayne. She shivered and shook and felt bloody tears make treks down her face. Though she clamped her hands over her ears, she could still hear the voices asking that same question over and over in different pitches, tones, and accents. When she could stand it no longer, she forced her self to wake up, jolting up in her hospital bed with a start.

Although she did not need to breathe, she found herself panting any way. The room was dark save for a single doorway near the foot of here bed that was letting a bright, eerie light through. As Shayne attempted to gain her bearings, her head spinning, she tried to remember if there had been a door there previously. As she wondered this, she realized that she could hear something, just beyond the door. She was up in a crouching position in the bed, the hospital gown brushing the tops of her knees. She was tense as she felt rather than heard the owner of the voice…no voices drawing near. _Alucard!_ She called out in her mind, willing him to hear her. She had a feeling that he could not. Everting felt…wrong.

“ **That’s because it is wrong”,** a deep feminine voice said to her left. She whipped her head around to see a redhead female vampire with long sharp nails and a tall willowy form grinning deviously at her.

 _“So wrong,”_ said another,  sweetly chirping voice to her right. Shayne looked and saw a lanky blonde with hauntingly pale skin giving her a tender yet creepy smile.

“We made it so,” said yet another voice. Suddenly at the foot of her bed, framed by the light, was a petite brunette with long flowing locks, heart-shaped face, and unlike her friends, her eyes were not red, but a stunning green.

“Who…who are you?” Shayne asked, trying to conceal her trembling.

“Who do you think we are?”

**“Oh do try”.**

_“Try!Try!Try!”_

It dawned on Shayne. _Oh…my…gawd…_ ” You’re….” she trailed off, hardly believing it.

“ _We are?”_  the blonde asked sweetly, suddenly closer to Shayne than she would like.

“You’re Alucard brides…” she whispered in shock.

“Ding-Ding”.

**“Do you think she wonders how sisters?”**

_“Oooo, let’s tell our sister a story”_

“She doesn’t deserve a story!”  the brunette growled, suddenly in Shayne’s face, snapping her teeth.

“What did I do to you?” Shayne asked, angry now.

“ ** _You took our place!”_** they shouted together.

Suddenly, Shayne was pinned down by the redhead and the blond, while the brunette straddled her, hands, strong hands, around Shayne's throat.

“We knew, of course, long ago that our dear husband had moved on.”

_“He never looked for us, he was took occupied by HER.”_

**“But then she was taken and our lover was fallen, but we thought surely he would come. “**

**_“_ ** _We were so close to his freedom”_

**“To the day he would be free to seek us”**

“To embrace his brides once more. It’s been far to long since we last felt his touch”

_“My body couldn’t wait! But then YOU were born.”_

Shayne’s eyebrows went up in a question. She was born? What does that mean? And how the hell were they here? They should be dead! Laughter greeted her last thought and she glared at the group as a whole.

 **“So feisty,” the redhead said, leaning and leering into her face,” So was Vanhellsing”.** Shayne’s eyebrows flew up again. **“Your author got it wrong. We did not die. We were entombed. Entombed for the purpose of research.”**

“The fool thought he could break us. It was through our bodies that he found the way to break the count”

_“But not us, we are already crazy”_

**“But not our husband.”**

Shayne snorted at that and the brunette grinned madly down at her. “With us,” she said wistfully, looking up like she was gazing at the memory it’s self, “with us he was wild, free, lustful, a conquer inside and outside the bed. But all of that changed when he met HER.”

_“She tamed the beast.”_

**“Renewed him.”**

“Then he left!”

_“Why didn’t he come back? I need him.”_

**“Want to feel him.”**

“We will, but first, you have to go.” The brunette raised a dagger that she had grabbed from her hip.

“Why?” Shayne blurted, stopping the knifes decent. “Why do you think he will return to you? He left you so easily.  Why would he take you all back?”

All three of them cocked their heads down at her and she was struck by how odd and how synchronous their movements were. If she remembered correctly, they probably spent all of their time together, waiting on the king that would occasionally visit to satisfy a need. “Why didn’t you carve out life somewhere else? You obviously were able to free yourself. Why stick around?”

“Good questions.” All four women jerked when that rich, deep, baritone slide through the air, more sultry than Shayne had ever heard it. Alucard stood to the right of the bed, leaning up against the wall. “You waited for me all this time?” he purred the question, fire in his eyes.  When the blonde was about to leap over them all to get to his, the brunette stopped her, climbed off Shayne and seemed to cautiously approach him.

“Gizette.” He said.

“My, my count, how you have changed. And yet…” she reached up and touched his face, “how little you have changed. It’s remarkable.” Her fingers traced the features of his face as his other two brides surrounded him on each side, touching him, openly rubbing their bodies against him, while he just leaned against the wall, an unfathomable expression on his face.

 _“Did you ever love us?”_  the blonde cooed running her hands down his chest.

He looked down at her for a moment, a sad look on his face. “I loved you. All of you. At one point, together, as equals, as lovers, as wife’s, as friends, and as companions. I did love you.”

 **“What changed?”** The redhead whined, pushing her full breasts into his side. **“Surely it wasn’t the lovemaking.”**

_“Or the feasting.”_

“Or our bodies, our faces. You never grew tired of that”. The brunette stated coyly.

“You know why.” Alucard said softly “You never could understand. You never could see. I am who I am. You are what you are. I cannot give you what you want.. You wish for that which you gave up to be with me. Gave you everything I had. You wanted more. And more. And more. In the end, I became what you wanted, a hard, cold lover and you hated me for it.”

“ **No hate.”**

_“Love! Only love!_

“Let us love you again, together!”

_“All at once.”_

**“We all know you enjoyed those nights” the redhead laughed.**

_“Forget her.”_

“Irene,” he said, cupping the blondes face, “My once so innocent flower girl,” she cooed and leaned into his hand, “Do you remember what I asked of you, the one thing I asked you to do on our wedding night?”

When she shook her head he sighed and pulled away, earning a whimper from all three women, “I asked all of you the same question. Will you see what I am? Will you accept it? Will you follow me into the darkness and be my light? All of you agreed to this, but all of you failed.”

They protested when he pushed them away, sat on the bed, and pulled Shayne into his lap. “So I then tried to take my light by force. I paid the price for it and lost her. “ the sadness in his voice caused Shayne to look up to his face in alarm. “I had tried the choices route. I thought each time I took one of you as my wife that you would be that light. When it failed, when you failed, I tried to take it by force..”

He shuddered a bit, alarming Shayne even more. The brides were bristling at her, glaring daggers in her direction as he pulled her tighter. She could feel the rippled of muscle under his clothes and she realized he was fighting something….magic maybe? She could sense that the air was still wrong. What had he gone through just to get to her? Was he in…pain?

“Then,” he continued after a beat, “Then I found Shayne. Her eyes have never wandered. She has never Lusted after men, materialistic items, power. She has never used me for her own ends. She remains the humanity that I lost. THAT is what I need, what I love, and what I will protect. You dare try to poison her to take her away from me?” His eyes blazed.

Gizett held up her hands, “We had nothing to do with that.”

 _“That was a fortune that smiled on us,”_ Irene giggled.

The unnamed redhead seemed to be the smarter of the two and remained silent. As a matter of fact, it seemed like she was about to…

Before she could run, Alucard shot her through the heart. There was a loud set of shrieking, and before Shayne knew it, she was on the other side of the bed, on the ground, with Irene snapping her sharp teeth in her face. Gizett was wrestling with Alucard and he seemed to be having a difficult time holding on to his gun and blocking her knife.  Shayne struggled with Irene and managed to throw the girl off her. She struggled to her feet amidst the banshee shrieks both women were emitting. She was back on her feet just as Irene slammed her into another wall. Her muscles protested as she struggled to keep the girl from ripping out her throat. Shayne gathered all the strength she had left and threw the girl as hard as she could at the nightstand by the bed. As the wood flew through the air, Shayne snagged a huge piece and without hesitation, jammed it through Iren’s heart, ending her. Ash Shayne collapsed to the ground, she saw Alucard gain the upper hand in his battle, finally able to catch the slippery brunette in his shadows. She screamed at him.

“You talk of love and light! What do you know about it? I watched you, I loved you, I chose you! I was the first! I was the first!”  real bloody tears slipped down her cheeks as Alucard's shadows drew her near.

He was silent for a moment before he raised his gun to the girl’s heart. “I saw you.” He said and the girl went still. “I saw you with the little boy. You killed his mother for fun to watch him suffer, even knowing my past, all that I shared with you. You laughed at his tears before slowly tearing him apart. When caught, you blamed it on the big scary count in the castle. You started a bloody war because you were bored. You loved me?” he shook her hard before pulling back the slide of his gun, “You sold me out at the first opportunity. I gave more chances, continued to care for you, love you, and in the end, I had none of you. “ he shot her through the heart and watched her dust dance through the air.

Before Shayne could say anything, he collapsed, falling to his knees. The air around them shifted and whatever spell had been in the air was gone. Shayne struggled to get to him, her muscles protesting harshly. When she finally reached him, she yanked him into a hug and he held on as hard as he dared to his fragile light.

 

 


End file.
